


Silver Mirror

by Necron



Category: RWBY
Genre: Adventure, F/F, F/M, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Gen, Next Generation, Sci-Fi, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-06-10 13:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 160,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15292284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necron/pseuds/Necron
Summary: The sequel to Silver Rose. Lilly has gone missing and it's up to her friends to find her, but their search is further complicated with the burgeoning war between the kingdoms in a prelude to a repeat of the Great War of a hundred years ago. Will they be able to find their companion in time and prevent Remnant from falling into chaos?





	1. Gray Skies

 

 

 

Silver Mirror

 

 

_So long as there is Light, there shall always be Shadow._

 

 

 

 

By: Necron

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_And though I walk_

_Through the valley of the shadow of death,_

_I will fear no evil,_

_For you are with me._

 

CHAPTER I

_Gray Skies_

 

Rain.

It had been more than a week since the sun last shone through the clouds over Beacon Academy. It reflected the state of the world perfectly. At least, that's how Leon saw it. He'd left his umbrella back at the dorms again. One would think he'd have gotten used to the downpour by now. It's not as if it ever let up even for a second.

 _Beats having a drought, I guess,_ he thought as he threw on his red hood before stepping out into the deluge.

Thunder sounded nearby, but it didn't bother him. There were so many other things on his mind that even a Grimm attack right in the middle of campus probably wouldn't worry him. He took off his red cloak, shaking off the rain before throwing it back on and walking into the second-year dorm building. It was a good thing he'd custom ordered this cloak to be water impermeable. Mostly it was so blood would slide right off, but it worked perfectly for the rain as well. He climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, where he and his team were staying this year.

 _Team,_ he thought as he passed by Team APEX's open door. No one was inside, but the TV was on.

He opened the door to his team's room. It was empty. Yuan and Ingrid were probably out shopping to refill their fridge. They were running low on water and sports drinks, though they'd probably save money by catching all this rain instead.

He stopped by Ingrid's bunk and looked at the upper level. They had moved all of her things here along with everyone else's belongings, but her bed had been undisturbed since that last text message he had exchanged with her at the end of the Vytal Festival.

"Hey," Athena said from the doorway.

Leon gave her a quick glance before turning back to that perpetually empty bunk.

"We'll find her, okay? Just keep your chin up."

That was easy for his sister to say. She didn't look up to her the way he did.

"Look. You're not the only one who lost her, okay?"

"The fuck would you know?" he said, turning to her.

She was taken aback not by his words, but by the pitiful look on his face. His lavender eyes were clouded with tears that he wouldn't let fall. She didn't want them to fall either, but they looked as heavy as the clouds outside.

"Leon—"

"Sorry," he interrupted her. "I didn't mean to do that."

Without another word, Athena walked briskly to her brother before wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly. Before long, he, too, returned her embrace. And that was when the tears began to fall. He made no sounds as he cried, but this was her little brother. Athena could feel the ache in his heart just from the way he gripped her tightly.

"C'mon," Athena said. "Training's about to start."

"Yeah," Leon said. "Let's have another three-on-four match."

 

* * * * *

 

"Good work today," Penny said to the group as they panted. "Ingrid, your identical shadow clones are getting smarter, which is good. Thirty seconds is still your tops, but we'll get it up to a whole minute eventually. Right now we need to keep working on their intelligence. Your Dust clones are already effective as they are, so they're not gonna need too much work."

Ingrid nodded.

"And Xanthus, your control over your Semblance is growing. Nevertheless, it's still too power-intensive. We need to work on greater efficiency."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Echo, your close range needs a lot of work. You're good, but in a direct one-on-one confrontation, you tend to rely too much on flight instead of fight, which isn't wrong, but if you have no other choice than to fight, you need to be able to do that."

Echo nodded.

"I will say, though. Your aim with your bow is amazing."

She brought up Sentinel, eyeing the upgrades she had gotten for it. Its draw weight had been increased, which made it slightly more difficult to use, but the additional power behind each arrow was worth it.

"Perseus," Penny said, turning to him. "You've gotten slower. Is there any reason why?"

He shrugged.

"I think you enjoyed your summer break back home a little too much."

He chuckled. "My mom cooks good food. What can I say?"

"Athena, keep up the excellent work. Yuan, let's try some more offensive uses for your Semblance next time we train."

Both nodded.

"Leon."

His attention was turned to the window, the sound of the rain on the glass hypnotizing him.

"Leon?"

"Hmm?" he said, turning to Penny.

"I was gonna say you're getting better with managing your aura levels. Your Semblance also doesn't seem to use up as much aura as before."

He gave her a small smile before turning back to the window.

"Okay, that concludes your training for today," Penny said. "Your request for this month's assignment was approved, by the way."

Echo's eyes brightened.

"I will accompany you as your supervisor on this task. If you guys don't have any questions, you're free to go."

"Before we dismiss," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses, "what about that issue we were discussing earlier?"

"Oh, right. Let's meet with the student council on that. I'll come with you."

The group went their separate ways. Penny and Xanthus headed to the study halls to meet with the student council while Echo followed after Athena and Ingrid to grab some coffee and a light snack. Yuan went to the library with Perseus to get ahead on their homework. Only Leon flew solo, hanging out at the knight statue. He had left his umbrella at the dorm again, but the rain didn't bother him. His red cloak was more than enough to keep him mostly dry.

He stood at the edge of the manmade pool, staring at the statue for a time, allowing the pitter patter to hypnotize him. This was always her favorite spot to hang out. She admired everything this statue represented: courage, honor, duty. He drew his sword, holding it out for a moment before thrusting it downward with both hands resting on the hilt, mimicking the exact pose of the knight statue.

He sighed heavily. There was no way he could ever live up to that kind of person. He couldn't even keep his own team leader safe. What good would he be to everyone else? He stowed his sword before heading to the café, another one of her favorite spots. His sister was already there with Echo and Ingrid, chatting over some coffee at the tables outside, just out of reach of the spatter.

"I've always loved the sound of the rain," he heard Echo say as he walked by.

"Ugh, I hate the rain," Ingrid said.

"It's okay, kitty," Athena said. "We'll keep you dry."

Leon let himself smile for once before heading in to order some coffee. He got it without any condiments this time to try and see why she liked it so much. This blend was her favorite, beans grown in Menagerie and Patch. It was incredibly bitter, but if one could fight through, a hint of sweetness surfaced. He let another smile form on his face as he realized why she loved this coffee so much. That extra essence was worth sitting through the bitterness.

He took a seat next to a window, staring idly at his cup, the aroma of this blend overpowering the rest of the scent of coffee in the entire building. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost hear her laugh and see her smile, but when his mind returned to reality, all of that vanished.

His scroll vibrated, but he ignored it. It vibrated three more times before he pulled it out and took a look at a notification for four unread messages. A fifth one came up as he went for the unlock icon.

 

Athena: _yo_

Athena: _the hell u doing inside_

Athena: _come out_

Athena: _leon?_

Athena: _i can c u looking at ur scroll dude_

 

He pocketed his scroll before picking up his cup and heading out to the girls' table. A crash of thunder sounded and he watched as Echo and Ingrid both jumped at the same time.

"I really hate the rain," Ingrid said, clutching herself to stave off the cold.

He took a seat between his sister and Ingrid.

"Finally," Athena said. "You tryin'a avoid us or something?"

He didn't answer, taking a sip and staring at the table blankly. Ingrid pulled down his hood so she could see his face.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked him.

He glanced at her before taking another sip of his coffee. Echo and Ingrid exchanged looks and shrugs.

"Like I said," Athena began, "we'll find her. Either that, or she'll just turn up out of nowhere like she usually does."

"Did," Leon corrected.

"Huh?"

"Usually _did_. Not does."

The three girls looked at one another. Echo pulled out her scroll.

 

Echo: _ey_

Echo: _do something_

Ingrid: _wut do u want me 2 do?_

Echo: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Echo: _giv him a huf or something_

Echo: _hug*_

Ingrid: _wtf??_

Echo: _srsly_

Echo: _i mean u grew up with him soooooo_

Echo: _and its ok ur bfs not here so cmon_

 

It wasn't as though that wasn't what was on her mind, but Ingrid really didn't know what to do during times like this. Even growing up, Leon, Athena, and Astor never found themselves depressed. It was usually her that was down in the dumps and they'd be the ones to cheer her up, not the other way around. She had absolutely zero practice with this.

But it wasn't as though she could just sit here and do nothing. After steeling herself, she scooted closer to him until they were touching. He slowly turned his head to her, his lavender eyes meeting with her ambers. No words were exchanged between them. All that was needed was a light touch from her hand to his and he found himself resting his head on top of hers as she leaned into him.

Echo was surprised at how close the two were, but then she remembered what Athena had said about them. She, Ingrid, Leon, and Astor were like family growing up. And while Astor and Leon were huge flirts, the two boys had always seen the two girls as sisters and best friends. Leon and Ingrid could never become a couple and Astor thought of both Athena and Ingrid as his best buddies and wingmen.

"I'm sorry," Leon said quietly.

"For what?" Ingrid said, looking up at him.

"For being such a burden on you guys."

She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close. "You're never a burden. And even if you were, what are friends for if not for holding each other up when somebody's down?"

He gave her a tiny smile. It seemed no one was capable of truly smiling anymore in the absence of their leader.

"Seriously, though," Echo said. "It's not like you to be all down and shit. That's me and Ingrid. Stop stealing our jobs."

"Yeah," Ingrid said, frowning at him.

Athena reached out beyond the awning. "This rain ain't gonna let up, is it?" she said, catching some water to wash her hands.

"Doesn't look like it," Ingrid sighed.

 

* * * * *

 

"You guys have my full support on this," Penny said.

"Thank you," Gina said, bowing to her. "It was all Xanthus's idea, though."

"I-I didn't work on it alone," he chuckled, putting a hand to the back of his head.

"Well, when I graduate this year, you're sure to take my spot anyway. I believe in you, Xan-chan!"

He hated that nickname. Everyone pronounced the "chan" improperly, but it wasn't like him to rebuff a term of endearment.

"Thank you, Gina," he said with a bow.

"Unfortunately," Penny continued, "we won't be able to get any of this work started. Vale certainly can use some cleaning up, but I'm not gonna send you guys out there in raincoats to pick up trash and help out at homeless shelters."

"The weather doesn't look like it's gonna change any time soon, though," Gina said, walking to a window and placing a hand on the cold glass as she stared outside. "It's only October. Why the heck is it coming down so hard?"

"I mean, Vale _does_ get rain, you know," said Octavia Winchester, who was overall vice president of the student council, having taken over when one of the fourth-year students graduated.

"Yeah, but this ain't rain. This is a friggin' monsoon. Without all the wind and crazy stuff."

"I think we can squeeze in some shelter volunteering," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "As long as it's indoor work. Feeding, cleaning up, things of the sort."

"See, this is why you're next in line," Gina said. "Heck, you should've already taken my spot. Sure as heck would take a load off my shoulders."

"I mean, he's already doing most of your work," Octavia said.

"Nobody asked you!"

The others chuckled.

"Well, it's just us," Xanthus said. "The rest of the council's already left. Are we breaking off?"

"Sure, I guess," Octavia said. "I have homework to do."

"Same," Gina said. "Ugh, these senior projects are tough. If we end up having to fight Grimm out in this rain, I'm gonna shoot myself."

Penny and Xanthus watched as they left the study room.

"So," Xanthus said, turning to his companion. "Are you busy?"

"Why do you ask?" Penny said.

He shrugged. "Was wondering if you were hungry. Or, well, if you _get_ hungry."

She chuckled. "Of course I get hungry, silly."

"Oh, w-well, I just wanted to make sure."

"Glynda got sandwiches for the faculty for lunch and there's a ton left over. I hope you're _really_ hungry."

He chuckled. "Sure."

"C'mon, then," she said, leading the way out of the study hall.

He followed only a few steps behind her, admiring her auburn hair, which she didn't have tied up today, instead allowing it to fall down to her lower back freely. He was amazed at the technology of her new body. Even hair and fingernails grew. But in spite of all the organic features, she was still chiefly machine. Her arms and legs might pass for real limbs, but only because of the fact that they employed state-of-the-art artificial muscle and bone rather than steel and plastic.

It was strange, though. Cyborgs were typically born as organic creatures and then eventually augmented with mechanical components. Penny was the complete reverse of this, starting off as a machine and edging her way toward becoming more and more organic. It didn't matter to him, though. As far as he was concerned, she was a human being, no different from anyone else other than the fact that she possessed a different kind of body.

He felt himself warm up as he continued to admire the contours of her womanly body, all the curves in all the right places. He turned away, swallowing a massive lump in his throat, fixing to get his mind out of the gutter and toward something more gentlemanly.

What he failed to realize was that her empathy Semblance enabled her to feel all of these emotions, particularly the physical attraction and the shyness. She giggled softly at the thought. It was adorable. But at the same time, she also felt herself reddening, which was why she never once turned around to remind him of her Semblance, though it wasn't necessary at all given that she could now feel a new emotion from him, which bordered on panic.

"I-I swear I did not intend on checking you out!" he said abruptly.

She struggled to contain her laughter.

"I-I mean, it's not as if you're _not_ beautiful, I mean, you _are_ a lovely young woman, b-but it's not as though that's the only thing about you I mean you're also smart and strong and you care about people and—"

"Xanthus!" she said, turning around quickly and making him stop dead in his tracks. "Relax!"

He figured his face was bright red given the throbbing in his skull.

"I can read your emotions, not your mind!"

He sighed, letting his head hang. "Wait, but emotions are still, like, you can feel what I'm feeling and attraction is a feeling and—"

"Hey! My goodness, relax! It's perfectly normal to find people attractive! Gosh!"

The redness definitely wasn't going to leave his face any time soon. Her face twisted before she burst into teary-eyed laughter.

"I fail to see the humor in this situation!" he said.

"No! No!" she continued laughing. "I'm not laughing _at_ you, okay? I just, ohmygod, you are too cute, Xan-chan!"

Finally, someone who said it right, someone who pronounced the "chan" correctly.

"Okay, I just felt you relax a lot," she said, still smiling. "What did it? Cuz, like I said, I can only feel your emotions. I can't read your thoughts."

"You said it correctly," he said.

She knew exactly what he was talking about even without confirming.

"Well," she began, "let's walk side by side, then, so you don't feel tempted to check me out again."

He frowned.

"I'm just teasing you!"

"It's not funny."

"Look, you're an attractive guy yourself."

He wondered if he could get any redder than he was now.

"And I realize I'm not helping at all," she giggled. "Anyway, let's go eat. I'm hungry."

"I think my appetite has left me."

She laughed. "Don't be like that! C'mon!"

He looked into her face. That smile of hers was beautiful, the perfect complement to her emerald green eyes.

"You checking me out again?" she said with a smirk.

He shook his head violently.

"Okay, okay! I'll stop teasing you! Let's go before they take all the food away."

 

* * * * *

 

Perseus yawned as he and Yuan got through the last bit of tonight's homework. He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling for a time. He noticed out of the corner of his eye Yuan standing up to go to one of the windows and stare at the rain.

"I should have told everyone," he mumbled.

Perseus looked over at him.

"I should never have kept it a secret."

"What do you mean, man?" Perseus said.

"I promised her I'd keep it a secret because I trusted in her. But what if she's in over her head this time? It's been months since we last saw her. When she didn't show up on the first day of school, that should've been a red flag. No, the red flag was when she didn't return after the first week."

"Yuan, what are you talking about?"

He turned around to face Perseus. "You know all those times when she went missing? I know what she was doing. She's been going into that parallel world, the one she was in when she saved Mizuki."

Perseus was dumbfounded. All this time, he had been under the assumption that he was the only one who knew her secret. He should've realized that at least one of her teammates would know as well. And from the sounds of it, Yuan had been privy to that information for quite some time.

"You know she saved me, too?" Yuan said.

"Saved you?" Perseus said.

He nodded. "When I was in that coma, after I'd gotten shot protecting Ingrid. The reason I didn't awaken right away was because I was trapped in my own mind. But she entered my dream world and brought me out of it, showing me that I hadn't failed, that Ingrid was alive and well and waiting for me. And that was when I regained consciousness. Aside from my nurse, Ingrid was the first person I saw. At first, I had thought it was nothing more than a dream. But then, I thought about the details of her story about Mizuki and it was all too similar, so I asked her about it and she said it was true. But she asked me to keep it from everyone else, so I did."

"I mean," Perseus began, "I'm not gonna say you're stupid for keeping it a secret. She was your team leader and you clearly trusted her enough to let her trust you back. But, I mean, I dunno. Do you think it was smart to keep it a secret?"

"I can't stop thinking about that. Which is why I'm going to tell everyone."

"Wait, what?"

"My team and our circle of friends deserve to know what might be happening to her. Especially Penny. She was ultra protective of her, more so than the rest of us, I think."

Perseus looked at the ground before turning back to his companion. "You do what you gotta do, man. But I don't think Leon's gonna be very happy about this."

"I already expect him to lose it. After all, he's been more affected by this than any of us."

"That's the understatement of the year."

 

* * * * *

 

The group was silent as Yuan relayed his story. As expected, Leon's face showed mild irritation, which gradually devolved into outright anger.

"So, you've known about this," Leon said to Yuan, who didn't answer. "You knew about the danger she was putting herself in, and you never told anyone about it."

"She trusted me with her secret," Yuan said.

"Yeah, and look where that's gotten us!"

"Leon!" Ingrid said.

"No! He kept this from us and we just sat on our asses when we could've done something about it!"

"Hey!" Athena yelled, squaring off with him. "What the fuck is your problem?"

He looked his sister in the eye, lavenders locking with midnight blues brimming with severity.

"You heard what Yuan said! She _trusted_ him to keep it from the rest of us! The hell did you expect him to do, huh? Betray her trust? My question is do _you_ trust her?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"She clearly thought she could handle it and for a hell of a long time she _did_! And even if we all wanted to help—which we _all_ do—what the fuck do you think any of us could have done? What do you think _you_ could have done? _None_ of us even know how to cross over into that other world let alone what's even over there!"

"But we could have done _something_!"

"Yeah, right, with what? Our regular weapons? Guns? Swords? You saw the power she used against Ivory. I mean, we're all good, damn good, but she literally has _magic_. You would've just gotten in her way!"

"Shut up!"

He moved in to shove her, but she quickly redirected him and slammed him against the wall, holding him back with her forearm.

"Get off of me!"

"No!"

"Let me go, goddammit!"

"I'm not letting you go! You're my brother!"

He began crying and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, holding him closer than she ever had in their lives. His whole body went limp and she supported his full weight with her own strength, slowly lowering herself to the floor with him as he continued to cry, incoherent gibberish accompanying each sob and wail. She, too, found it impossible to hold back the tears and she let them fall freely onto his shoulder.

Unlike Leon, Athena did not look up to her rival as much. She always saw her as an equal, just one who needed to discover for herself where she belonged. Leon, on the other hand, all but idolized her. She was the light in his world, the brightness to drive away the gloom. And now that she was gone, it was as though half of him was now missing.

But it wasn't as though Leon was the only one feeling the pain of her absence. She was everyone's light. There was no one she didn't have a smile for. And with her gone, it was as though the world suddenly went empty. Each and every one of them felt the void in their hearts.

Penny stood up and left, her own emotions even heavier than the ones forcing their way into her from the others. She needed to get out. Leon's heartache was starting to take its toll on her. It was more than just the pain of losing his team leader. She was more to him than that. She was his strength, his hope, his everything. Compounding that with the fact that she was Weiss's daughter and _his_ made it so much worse.

She was halfway across the quad on the way to the tower when she went into autopilot, walking over to the pool to face the knight statue, but never allowing herself to look directly at it. She fell on all fours, her tears and sobs masked by the rain and thunder.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, her voice weak and penitent. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

She managed to look up at the statue. It seemed to hunch over more, its posture smaller than usual. She couldn't stand to look at it any longer and turned back down to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut as she touched her forehead to the cold concrete.

"I swore I would protect her," she whispered between sobs, "and I couldn't even do that. I'm so sorry, Bedivere, I'm so, _so_ sorry."

A hand placed itself on her shoulder as something blocked the rain from hitting her. She slowly looked up to see Qrow holding an umbrella over her.

"Hey," he said. "What're you doing out here?"

"Qrow," she managed. "I've failed. I've failed."

He squatted beside her. "What're you talking about? Wait, c'mon, let's talk about this somewhere dry. I was just headed to Oscar's office. You wanna talk up there?"

She nodded before sitting upright, her eyes catching a glimpse of the knight statue. It appeared to be looking downward, as though it avoided her gaze. She couldn't help the wailing now and Qrow found it impossible to console her.

"Penny, what's the matter?" he said.

"I'm sorry!" was all she could say. "I'm sorry!"

"C'mon, let's get you out of the rain."


	2. Lost Without You

CHAPTER II

_Lost Without You_

 

"She's finally calmed down a bit," Glynda said, walking back into Oscar's office.

"It's a good thing we held off on getting in touch with Weiss," Qrow said. "I mean, I'd like to think she wouldn't tear apart the countryside looking for her daughter, but at the same time, I have a wife. I know what she's capable of when her baby's threatened."

"I agree with you," Oscar began, "but it's only a matter of time before she gets anxious. Her daughter was in regular contact with her, calling at least once a month. By the end of this month, it will have been two entire months of silence. There's a good chance she'll try and contact us then."

"Three months," Glynda corrected him. "She's been missing since before August, right at the end of the Vytal Festival."

"Right, I forgot about that detail."

"So, I mean," Qrow began, "the fuck do we even do? If she's lost in a Labyrinth, there's literally nothing we can do about that. That's some next-level shit."

"There's one person we can contact," Oscar said. "Technically, three, but only one of whom I trust."

"You're talking about Hillphire."

"Yes. Unfortunately, I don't think he's actually made any advancements in that particular technology. And even if he did, I somehow doubt anyone could safely enter a Labyrinth without some unforeseen repercussions."

"Yeah. She was probably protected by her magic."

"What about Weiss?" Glynda said. "She still possesses her rune power just like her daughter."

"I'd like to hold off on involving Weiss Schnee until absolutely necessary," Oscar said.

"May I ask why? Honestly, she's the best chance we've got at getting her daughter back."

"The problem is that she can be stuck in any number of Labyrinths. I'd like to at least locate her geographically before notifying her mother. The powers she possesses might be under control now, but only because she is relatively calm. You remember what happened at the close of the war, don't you? You both saw with your own eyes what she did to the Winter and Summer Maidens, did you not?"

The mere mention of that event made even Qrow's face twist in disgust, and he had seen a lot of things in his life.

"We'll get in touch with her when the time comes," Oscar continued. "In the meanwhile, we need to spread the word to those we trust. Recovering her is high priority. But don't get the students involved just yet."

"Who did you have in mind for this work?" Glynda said.

"Glynda, I want you to get in touch with Hillphire. Fill him in on the situation, but emphasize secrecy. Qrow, I want you to contact Raven. Make it an official assignment. After all, they've dealt with Labyrinths before. And they have the Spring Maiden in their group."

"You'd better have a pretty fat offer on the table if you want my sister to get involved," Qrow said.

"Yang is in her group. I'm sure mentioning that Weiss's daughter is missing will carry some weight. Even to Raven."

"Who else are we involving?" Glynda said.

"I'll contact Winter personally. She knows how to keep things discreet. She'll also make it easier to keep her sister placated. It won't last forever, of course, but she can buy us the time we desperately need. She also has access to resources that we do not."

"Well," Qrow said with a heavy sigh, "here's hoping we find her before the Silver Maiden finds out we've fucked up and decides to pull Durandal out of Salem's body and blow up the planet."

 

* * * * *

 

"Well," Athena said as class ended, "good news is our job's been approved. We're heading south tomorrow."

"What's the basic outline?" Perseus asked.

"There's a village out there that's sent out an official request for aid. Problems with the Grimm, it seems."

"What was that about them going extinct?"

"That's the thing," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "In the past year, they've been re-emerging. Their numbers have shot up drastically, returning to pre-war levels in record time. At least, that's the information I've gathered from the times I've sat with Penny in the official conferences."

"The good thing is we Huntsmen won't be out of a job any time soon," Athena said.

"Talk about silver lining," Perseus chuckled. "Okay, I'm heading back to the room to pack up my stuff."

"What about Team..." Echo couldn't finish her sentence because doing so would mean having to say her name and it was much too painful.

"Have any of you guys seen Leon?" Ingrid said, jogging to their table.

"Wasn't he just there?" Athena said.

"He hasn't been in class all day," Echo said. "You never noticed?"

"His bunk was also empty when I woke up," Yuan said.

Athena sighed before pulling out her scroll and dialing his number. It went straight to his voicemail. "Hey, idiot, where the fuck are you? Call one of us back." She hung up before opening her messaging app.

 

* * * * *

 

Leon looked at the messages on his scroll.

 

Athena: _where the fck have u been?_

Athena: _wud u answer ur fcking scroll?_

Athena: _dude_

Athena: _LEON_

Athena: _wtf_

Ingrid: _u kno evry1s worried abt u ryt?_

Ingrid: _u there??_

 

He pocketed his scroll, ignoring two more vibrations that came through. He'd look at it later. The shuttle was just about to leave the range of Beacon's CCTS tower. He looked out the window, watching as the countryside whirred by, soon to be replaced by endless ocean. In a number of hours he would land in Atlas. His original plan was to see Weiss, but he reneged upon realizing that meant telling her that he completely fucked up his promise to watch over her daughter.

He gritted his teeth, leaning so far forward that his head started to hurt. He calmed himself back down. Losing his cool now would accomplish nothing. He checked through his luggage. He had made sure to bring only what he needed, the essentials for survival, his weapon, and...

He pulled out his copy of the group photo they had taken at the Vytal Festival. She was right in the center, the nucleus that held the entire group together. A drop of water landed on the photo. He wiped it away before looking around for a source, eventually realizing that it had come from his own eye.

Her smile. It was enough to negate any and all darkness. And now that she was gone, so was his light.

He quickly put the photo away and pulled out a map of Atlas. There were a few settlements scattered about, including Oasis, his original destination, but the vast majority of the population was in the capital city, which had swelled to nearly double its original size twenty years ago. It now sprawled well beyond its old borders, the center of the city dotted with skyscrapers, massive monuments to the sheer power of Atlas.

At least, that's what they once stood for. The Schnee Dust Company no longer had the monopoly on Dust. Jupiter Enterprises now held half of the global Dust market firmly within its grasp, with all of Menagerie's Dust business going straight to them and Hillphire Innovations.

"So, kid, you travelin' to Atlas all on your own?"

Leon turned his head to look up at a man not too many years older than himself. His guess was that he was in his mid-to-late twenties, maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven.

"Yeah," Leon replied to him.

"Visiting family or somethin'?"

"Somethin' like that. You?"

"Business trip. Huntin's gettin' real busy again."

Leon looked past him at a group of similarly-dressed men and women. There were seven of them in all, each of them rough in appearance, all dressed in black from head to toe and donning sunglasses. One wore tinted goggles. He'd heard of a group of seven who fit this description.

"You a Beacon student?"

"How'd you guess?" Leon asked.

The man pointed to his backpack, which had a Beacon Academy patch safety-pinned on.

"Second year," he continued.

"Cool. How you likin' things there?"

"It's pretty good. They teach us how to kill Grimm. That's all that matters to me."

The man grinned. "Sounds like you're on your way to bein' a top-ranked Huntsman. We're short a member, so if ya ever feel like you wanna go kill hordes and hordes of Grimm and get paid well doin' it, gimme a call. We're never too far out. 'Sides, you're already mostly dressed the part. Just have to tone it down on all the red."

Leon watched as he reached into a back pocket, pulling out a small card.

"That's my contact info."

"Wait," Leon said, reading the card. "You guys are the Reapers? The Grimm Reapers?"

The man responded with a smirk. "So you've heard of us. Name's Xavier. I'll be waiting for your call in two years, okay, son? We'll keep a spot open for you."

 _You're not even ten years older than me,_ he thought before eyeing two of the Reapers. Neither of them could've been a day older than sixteen years. The girl looked even younger than the boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen.

The team gave Xavier a nod as he rejoined them. Leon watched them for a bit. He'd heard stories, but never in his life did he think he'd ever cross paths with the Grimm Reapers, Huntsmen of incredible legend and untold notoriety. They were very well known for their brutal efficiency and particularly in their rather sadistic ways of dealing with the Grimm. Collateral damage was of no concern to them. Their only goal was to annihilate the Grimm. That's where their name came from.

At first, they were only a pair, the two sole survivors of a military unit wiped out by the Grimm. Like many others who turned to hunting, they had sworn themselves to exterminating the Grimm with extreme prejudice. Eventually, they were joined by a young woman who had lost her husband and children to the Grimm. From there, they expanded their ranks to hold the current number of seven, which included those two teenagers Leon had spotted.

From the looks on everyone's faces, it seemed they had been through a lot. One of the women of the team was sharpening her knife. Another member was cleaning his pistol. After a quick scan of their equipment, Leon came to realize that none of them used typical Huntsman weaponry. They used standard rifles, handguns, and combat knives. How in the world were they able to dispatch the Grimm with such ruthlessness with such ancient equipment?

He turned to the front, closing his eyes as he reclined his chair and leaned back. He wondered what kind of people the Reapers were. Aside from the relatively relaxed Xavier, they all looked intense, as if no sun ever shone in their world.

He'd be a perfect fit for them.

 

* * * * *

 

"I checked out security cameras," Penny said as the group reconvened. "The last spot he was picked up at was the airport in Vale."

"The fuck is he thinking?" Perseus said.

"He's not," Athena said. "Goddammit. He's _always_ been the emotional one between us. I swear, he got that shit from our dad."

"So, what do we do?" Xanthus said. "Can we leave without him?"

"What do you two wanna do?" Perseus said to Yuan and Ingrid.

"I mean," Ingrid began, "I don't like the idea of leaving teammates behind."

"But it's not like we know where to find either of them," Yuan said.

"Fuck it," Athena said. "Leon knows where Beacon Academy is. He can come back if he wants to. You two figure out if you wanna stay here and work on school shit or if you wanna join us on this job."

The duo turned to face each other. Neither wanted to leave Leon behind, but what other choice did they have?

"We'll join you," Ingrid said as they faced Team APEX.

"Okay," Athena said. "We'll work on battle formations en route to the village. Penny?"

"I'll be accompanying you on this job," she began. "Purely as a supervisor. I mean, I'll intervene if something big happens, like more Omegas, but let's cross our fingers. The goal for this assignment is to give you complete autonomy over your own mission. You have the request. You go about the job as you see fit."

"What's the plan, team leader?" Ingrid said to Athena.

"For now," Athena began, "we're going in for a basic patrol and sweep. Nothing smaller than pairs. I'm with Echo, Perseus with Xanthus, and you two."

Ingrid and Yuan nodded.

"If you absolutely need to go solo, let the entire team know before you do it, but if it's not necessary to go it alone, don't. The only time I'd expect you to even have to do something alone is, say, there are kids stuck in a building or something and the only entrance is big enough only for one of you. I'd stay outside while Echo goes in, or whatever. Otherwise, you don't go it alone."

The group nodded.

"The newcomers are also gonna have to work something with the rest of us individually in case we need to switch up the pairs, although I don't see this as a problem given the experience our two teams have working with each other."

"We'll run through some basic tactics later," Perseus said. "We're walking most of the way to Echo's village, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Echo said. "The road only goes so far. Our village is hidden deep within the valleys, which are covered with forests. It'll be several days' hike."

"We can make use of downtime as it comes," Athena said. "Anyway, we're leaving at first light, so do whatever you guys need to do before then. Let's break."

 

* * * * *

 

Yuan and Ingrid had dinner together in the city while Team APEX worked on tactics in the training halls.

"This'll be our last day in the city for a while," Ingrid said.

"Have you spent much time in the woods?" Yuan said.

"Not technically. I mean, I spent a lot of time in Forever Fall, but as far as actually having to subsist off of the land, no, not really. As a kid, I had everything I needed in Menagerie. And then when I moved out to Patch to attend Signal with the others, I had everything I needed there, too. What about you?"

"I grew up in Kuroyuri, a small village quite a ways away from the Mistral capital. Mom taught me how to fight, dad taught me how to hunt."

"You guys had to hunt for your food?"

He nodded. "We did have livestock, but it wasn't always enough to feed the whole village for the winter. We'd often venture out into the woods to get more meat to stock the freezers or to make into jerky."

"So you know a bit about living off the land."

"A little. Like you, I mostly got what I needed from home. Kuroyuri's nothing like the big cities, but it still had the basics for survival."

Ingrid felt like the spoiled rich kid between them. He was the country boy who worked with his hands. She was the Princess of Menagerie, who grew up with a silver spoon in her hand, even if that wasn't exactly true.

"What are we gonna do about Leon?" Yuan said.

"I don't know," Ingrid sighed. "Athena's right. He's always been the emotional one in the whole group. It's just that most of the time his emotions were really positive. It's, like, opposite that now."

"Her absence has really taken its toll on him, hasn't it?"

"She was the light for all of us."

"But him more so than anyone else."

She thought about it. Yuan was right. Leon practically idolized their team leader, looking to her for everything, always the first to her side when things went rough, always trying to keep her smiling. It was no wonder he took her disappearance so bad and why he had reacted the way he did when Yuan revealed what she had said to him just before she vanished.

Her face flushed as Yuan reached over, placing his hand on top of hers. She turned to him, her ambers locking with his jades.

"To be honest," he began, "I kinda know how he feels."

She reddened more.

"If you went missing one day, I'd go to the furthest edges of Remnant to find you. And if you were somehow swallowed up in a Labyrinth, I'd figure out a way to jump into one to look for you."

"Yuan..."

Without another word, he leaned over to kiss her. She, too, leaned in to meet him halfway. She could never get tired of the touch of his lips on hers, but the taste now was much sweeter than she remembered.

"Ingrid," he said as he looked into her eyes. "I don't ever want to lose you."

"You won't," she said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer, kissing his neck and jaw. "I won't leave you."

He kissed her on the temple. "I won't leave you either."

 

* * * * *

 

Dawn had just broken when Athena opened the door to the armored transport, holding it open for her team. She'd be the last one in, like any good leader, making sure that everyone made it onboard. She looked to the distance. The clouds seemed to stretch on forever, but the sun managed to peek out at them for this little bit before it would rise up and be obscured by the overcast.

The rain had finally let up for once, slowing to a drizzle, but there was thunder in the distance. It wouldn't be long until the downpour returned to Vale. Athena wondered if the storms would follow them all the way to Echo's village.

"Okay," Athena said, shutting the transport door behind her. "It'll be about a day's drive. We're making one stop only, a small Huntsman outpost at a village about eight hours out from here. After that, they're taking us to the southernmost border of the kingdom. Beyond that is unincorporated territory, the only settlement being Echo's village. Unfortunately, the village has no name, so we're just gonna refer to it as 'the village.' Drone surveillance indicates an unusually large presence of Grimm in the area. We're to stay on high alert while we're down there.

"Once we've arrived at the operation zone, we will have zero support from the outside. The Dust and ammunition we have now is all we're gonna get unless we specifically request an airdrop, which we don't have clearance for, so make do with what you've got."

"Looks like we're going mostly close range," Perseus said before turning to Echo. "You think you're ready?"

She nodded.

The transport rumbled to life as they rolled through the city out into the wilderness. They weren't the only passengers aboard this transport today. There were maybe two dozen more, soldiers, Huntsmen, and civilians alike. The students from Beacon would be the only passengers on the journey to the edge of the kingdom, however.

Perseus looked around at his team. They were all in travel clothing, ditching their old outfits for more durable wear. Further south on the continent, they expected colder weather, especially since winter was closing in. Athena was wearing a bright red leather jacket with a white t-shirt underneath tucked into a pair of dark blue jeans whose cuffs were tucked into her black combat boots. Echo wore similarly durable clothing, a dark brown leather jacket on top of a dark purple v-neck shirt that fell over dark gray jeans, the look finished with dark brown hiking boots.

He and Xanthus were dressed in similar fashion as well, both opting for black pants and combat boots, but where Perseus chose to top off the look with a bronze t-shirt and matching windbreaker, Xanthus wore a blue-gray button-up shirt with a Beacon Academy school jacket.

"You representing Beacon?" Ingrid said, eyeing Xanthus's getup.

"Of course," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "Everyone should know where we come from."

Ingrid and Yuan were the most differently dressed of the group. While they, too, wore garments that were more suitable for travel, Yuan stuck to his traditional Mistral garb of black and different shades of green with golden trim while Ingrid wore her favorite black and indigo outfit, topped off with a black and white coat that stretched down to her knees.

"It's weird seeing you dressed so differently," Xanthus said to Penny, who sat across the aisle from him.

"I hate being so constricted," she sighed.

"Jeans are not so bad."

"Doesn't stretch as well as tights, though. I hope I don't have to fight with you guys or I might rip something."

"I think it looks good on you."

She smiled at him. "That's real sweet."

He noticed his partner grinning at him and he reddened before turning to him. "Please stop. You are making me uncomfortable."

"Hey, but you're a sweet guy!" Perseus said, throwing an arm around his partner, who sighed in submission.

Athena looked out the window, watching the countryside roll by. There was a farm out in the distance, still untouched by the Grimm. She figured it wouldn't be long until even this place would be accosted by those monsters. She looked down at her scroll, taking a deep breath. Leon hadn't responded to the last text messages she and the others had sent him. She couldn't go on an emotional outburst the way her brother did.

_Leon, you idiot._

She missed her rival team leader as well, just like anyone else in this group, but she needed to have faith. Of course, saying that was one thing. Actually having faith was an entirely different story altogether.


	3. Princess of the North

CHAPTER III

_Princess of the North_

 

Ivory opened her eyes as the dawn light hit her face. Her room was at the highest elevation in their family's mansion and the sun never failed to get to her before anyone else in the entire capital city of Atlas. She spent some time in bed, staring at the ceiling idly, trying to clear her thoughts. She had just succeeded when soft knocking came from her door.

"Miss Ivory, would you care for breakfast?"

"Please enter, Klein," she said, sitting up. "The door is not locked."

"Good morning, Miss Schnee!" Klein said as he entered her room with a tray of breakfast.

"Good morning, Klein," Ivory replied with a smile. The cheery attitude of his yellow-eyed side never failed to lift up her spirits.

"You requested a different blend of coffee than your usual for this morning?"

"Yes. Were you able to procure the beans?"

"I was. Merchandise from Menagerie is difficult to come by nowadays, but I was able to secure some for your private stash."

"Excellent. I knew I could count on you."

"Tell me how you like it."

She took the warm mug in her hands, breathing the scent in. The aroma was quite floral, reminding her of the garden her Aunt Weiss always tended to. She took a sip. Beneath the almost overpowering bitterness was a hint of something sweet, like honey, or perhaps nectar.

"You didn't add anything to this, right?" she said to Klein.

"Correct," he said. She noticed his eyes were back to their normal light brown color. "You never like anything in your coffee."

"Hmm."

"I can't tell if you're pleased or not this time."

"I don't know what to decide," she said. "It's an unusual combination, bitter with a hint of floral sweetness. But I guess the mild and mellow makes sense given the floral aroma. Have you tried some?"

He chuckled. "I would, but I'm afraid my palate isn't quite as sophisticated as yours, Mistress."

"It's good. I like it."

"I'm glad. I did buy sixty kilos of those beans from Menagerie. Just in case."

"Your prediction ended up correct as always, Klein. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Am I correct in assuming, then, that you would like this coffee from now on?"

"Yes. I think it's time to try something new."

"If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to change?"

She looked down at the mug, watching as the wisps of steam rose up before vanishing. This was the blend that her elder cousin enjoyed so much. Ivory had always wondered what it was about this that interested her and now she came to realize what it was. That floral sweetness buried underneath was worth enduring the strong, almost alkaline bitterness.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," she answered his question, making him chuckle.

"You'll get back to me when you discover your answer, won't you?"

"You'll be the first person to know."

"Perfect. If that is all, I will return to my duties."

"Yes, thank you, Klein."

She watched as he bowed before shutting her door. She let out a sigh before setting down her mug and starting with the pancakes. She always went with the pancakes or waffles first, whichever was there. The eggs were always second. They were scrambled today, lightly cooked and moist, just the way she liked it. There were specks of pepper scattered about. The seasoning was just perfect. The hash browns and ham, sausage, and bacon were next. She alternated between the hash browns and the meat as always, dulling the typically strong salt with the milder flavor of the potatoes.

Topping off the hearty breakfast was a bright red apple sitting next to a bowl of blueberries and a glass of milk.

 _Blueberries today, huh?_ she thought as she plucked one from the bowl and tried it. This batch was sweet, unlike last week's extra sour blueberries. Those were almost impossible to stomach without taking a swig of milk with each mouthful.

Once she was finished with everything else, she stacked the empty dishes with the largest at the bottom and the smallest on top, her utensils arranged neatly between the dishes and her empty milk glass. The apple was always what went untouched, to be packed away with the rest of her things and eaten during her first class of the day.

She stood in front of her wall-sized mirror with her coffee in hand. It was lukewarm now, but that did nothing to dampen the extra-strong bitterness and the mild sweetness underneath.

She picked up her brush, running it through her hair. She'd try a different hairstyle today. Exactly like Aunt Weiss's, except on the other side of her head. Her hair was long enough by now to pull off the look almost perfectly.

After finishing her coffee, she set it on the tray and slid out of her nightgown, folding it up neatly on her bed and heading to the shower. The water was already warm when it came out of the spout and she closed her eyes, allowing it to wash over her face and hair and the rest of her body. Water had the power to rinse away dirt and grime. Unfortunately, it couldn't wash away anything deeper than that.

After finishing, she dried herself off before standing in front of her mirror once more. Since starting at Atlas Academy, she had gained a significant amount of muscle mass, though she still maintained her slender, streamlined figure. Unlike Viktor Nikolayev, who was built for powerful attacks, or Yorath Schtolteheim, whose physique lent itself to technical prowess, she was built for speed, much like Renata Nováček, her partner.

She donned her Atlas Academy uniform, putting up her hair as she intended, a direct copy of her Aunt Weiss's old hairstyle, but on the left side of her head instead of the right. She stood in front of her mirror for some time before finally deciding to leave, grabbing her suitcase and Elfenbein along the way.

"Oh, good morning, Ivory."

"Uncle Whitley," Ivory greeted him back with a curtsey.

He stared at her for a moment before blinking himself back to normal. "I see you're trying a new hairstyle."

"Yes. I thought I'd pay homage to my aunt. I've been wearing the same hairstyle as mom for so long."

"Well. I wish you the best." He turned to walk away when he paused and stepped backwards to stand side by side with her. "By the way," he whispered. "That secret stash of beans from Menagerie Klein brought in, that's between us three only, okay?"

She smirked at him and he returned the grin before they parted ways. She could always count on Uncle Whitley to be on her side.

"Miss Schnee," her driver said as gave her a bow.

"Edward," she said. "I won't be riding to school today."

"You...won't?"

"Correct. I wish to exercise my Semblance."

He looked up at the sky. "Are you sure? It looks like it's going to snow any second now."

"I'm aware of that and I don't care."

He chuckled. "Very well, then. I will follow after you, however. Just in case you decide to change your mind."

"I appreciate it."

Ivory concentrated, tightly gripping her suitcase and Elfenbein as she planned out her path through the skies of Atlas. The Academy was a long way away from home, but she could do it. She ran the calculations in her head and she estimated she had enough aura and control over her Semblance that she could make it all the way to campus with more than half of her aura still intact.

"Race you there, Mistress?" Edward said as he revved the car's engine.

She grinned at him before projecting a glyph beneath her feet. She launched into the air as the car peeled out of the driveway. She looked behind as her driver sped down their private road. He was quick, but she was much faster. Not only did she not have to obey traffic signals—which he clearly did not right now either—she had a clear line of sight from the manor to the academy.

She projected glyph after glyph, using them to soar through the air like a bird. Birds were free, though. She wasn't. Even after graduating from the academy this year, she was slated to become a military officer under the direct command of her mother. She landed on a rooftop, somersaulting off and projecting another glyph, vaulting off of that one to another and another. She gained some altitude, aiming for the front steps of the academy before allowing herself to fall. She had reached terminal velocity when she projected a column of glyphs, each one of them slowing down her descent before she projected a final glyph to land on.

"Wow," Renata said, clapping with a number of other students. "I mean, wow."

"Was fun, captain?" Viktor said.

"That was not for leisure," Ivory said, straightening out her uniform. "I was strengthening my Semblance."

"You came from your home?" Yorath asked.

"I did."

"Amazing. That entire distance you spent airborne?"

"Correct."

"That is why we are top team in world," Viktor said. "Captain is best with Semblance."

"You flatter me, Viktor."

"Really, though," Renata said, walking in step with her as they entered the building. "You can't deny the fun you just had."

"I won't deny it. I won't admit to it either."

She smiled. "Understood, ma'am. Oh, by the way, I like what you've done with the hair. It's very...retro."

Ever since her victory over Athena Rose during the Vytal Festival Tournament, Ivory Schnee had an even bigger spotlight on her. She had always been known as the child prodigy who started at Atlas Academy at only thirteen years of age after having mastered her family's Semblance at only ten years old, but now that she had a tournament win under her belt, it seemed there was nothing she wasn't capable of.

She commanded the respect of nearly everyone she came across, whether they were fellow students or instructors. Team IVRY possessed a noticeable bubble that insulated them from everyone else around. No one came within three feet of their formation unless they had business with them.

As always, Ivory walked at the very center and front of the team with Renata a half-step behind her to her right. Behind the girls were Yorath to the left, two steps behind Ivory, and Viktor at the very rear, always vigilant even amongst allies. Whenever Ivory stopped, they stopped like clockwork. Their pace matched her pace. Ivory's command over this unit was immaculate.

"Good morning, class," Professor Ironwood said as they took their seats. "As you may well know, you have a major assignment coming up soon. Some of you have not yet submitted your formal requests for patrol." He turned to Team IVRY. "Schnee, your patrol request has been approved. Report to Headmaster Holland for your official briefing."

"Thank you, Professor Ironwood," Ivory said.

"The rest of you should receive responses on your official student accounts within the next seventy-two hours. Now, quiz scores this time were not completely horrible, but I'm still not impressed. This is material you should have already mastered before the end of your third year here. You're all fourth-year students. You're expected to function independently. Viktor Nikolayev."

"Sir!" he said, standing up promptly.

"You are faced with roughly one hundred Grimm of varying types. What do you prioritize?"

"Running away?" a student in a far corner mumbled, prompting chuckles throughout the classroom.

"And this is why we have only one team in this classroom that actually made it to the tournament," Ironwood said, silencing the class. "Nikolayev, if you will."

"First priority of team is strong, close formation," Viktor began. "Leader establish tactic for engaging hostiles. Aggressive Grimm are targeted first with focus on the weaker to decrease enemy number. Careful advance and tactical retreat and re-engage enemy is crucial to battle."

"As I said, this is why only one team in this classroom was selected to represent Atlas. Thank you, Nikolayev."

Viktor gave a salute before taking his seat.

"Now, it's time for a brief exercise. Hoffman."

"Yes, sir," a student said as he rose.

"Proceed to the front."

Ivory watched as Terrence Hoffman descended the steps to the front of the classroom, where he would face a live, captive Grimm in combat.

"This is your final chance, Hoffman," Ironwood said. "If you cannot take down this Boarbatusk, you automatically fail the course. You are currently below passing in your performance. Should you succeed here, you will be bumped up to satisfactory."

"Yes, sir," Terrence said nervously.

"Begin."

A cage opened up to let loose a Boarbatusk, which immediately charged at him. He deployed his spear, transforming it into a rifle before taking an ineffective shot at the Grimm, only barely escaping getting bowled over. He scampered to his feet as the monster turned back at him to charge. He dove to the side and took another shot, but his bullet managed to strike the cage locking mechanism in the wall and he ended up releasing several other Grimm, including four Alpha Beowolves.

Panic quickly spread throughout the classroom as Ironwood himself prepared to intervene. Before an attacking Alpha Beowolf could lay its claws on Terrence, a glyph appeared between him and the monster, saving his life at the last instant. In a flash, Renata was atop the Alpha Beowolf, her katana protruding from its throat.

Terrence looked over to his right, where Ivory was standing, Elfenbein in hand, a fierce look on her face. She reached out to him without looking and he accepted her help, standing beside her and the rest of her team.

"Leave the Boarbatusk," Ivory said to her team.

"Yes, ma'am!" her team acknowledged before engaging all of the loose Grimm, making short work of more than two dozen of them. Only the original Boarbatusk remained, along with two Alpha Beowolves Ivory was dealing with.

"Captain?" Yorath said, standing beside his team leader.

She smirked. "Hoffman," she said, turning to him. "I think you can handle these."

Terrence looked at her. She had no intention of stealing his chance at redemption. He gave her a nod before turning to the two Alpha Beowolves and transforming his rifle into a spear. He dashed at them both, blocking a strike from the one to the left before parrying and nailing a perfect thrust into the right one's neck, downing it for good. He faced off with the remaining Alpha Beowolf. He eyed the Boarbatusk to the side, which attacked Team IVRY, but the quartet only dodged. Not one engaged the beast.

They were saving it for him. Ivory Schnee, the champion of the Vytal Festival, was giving him his shot at not failing out. He would not let her down. He let out a battle cry as he charged the Alpha Beowolf. This thing wasn't gonna take him out. No way. He was a fourth-year student. He'd made it this far without getting himself or any of his teammates killed. He would come out on top.

The Alpha Beowolf nailed his shoulder, but his aura protected him from injury. He immediately countered with a slash to the Grimm's knee before leaping in the air and decapitating it.

"Hey!" he yelled at the Boarbatusk. "I'm your opponent!"

The Grimm turned its attention to him and began charging up to attack head-on. He ran at it as well, aiming his spear carefully and letting it soar. As the Boarbatusk got its legs tangled in his weapon, Terrence reached behind his back and pulled out two combat knives, digging both into the Boarbatusk's head, nailing it right behind the ears, the softest point of its skull. The beast fell motionless to the ground.

He yanked out his combat knives, looking over at Ivory. She was grinning at him. She didn't have to say a word. That look of approval was all he needed.

"Good work, Hoffman," Ironwood said. "You currently possess a passing grade as far as I'm concerned."

"Thank you, sir," Terrence said, sheathing his knives and saluting.

"Retrieve your weapon and return to your seat."

"Sir!"

"Schnee," Ironwood said quietly.

She stopped and turned around to face him.

"You're ready."

"Sir," she said, saluting before joining her team and taking her seat.

 

* * * * *

 

"I don't wanna sound patronizing," Renata began as they had lunch, "but I'm honestly really proud of you, captain."

"Are you?" Ivory said, opening up her sandwich to add mayonnaise and a light splash of olive oil.

"Yep. I think only last year, you woulda had us clean up that whole mess without batting an eye. If the poor kid failed, he failed. Means he didn't have what it took. But you gave him another shot at getting his head back above water."

"We all deserve a second shot."

"I agree," Viktor said, biting into his sandwich. "Mmm. Roast beef still best beef."

"When will you learn, Nikolayev?" Yorath said. "Blutwurst is superior."

"I don't get how the fuck you can eat that," Renata said, making a disgusted face. "That's literally a goddamn blood sausage."

"It's not as though you eat it raw. I'm not a vampire."

"Raw or cooked, doesn't change the fact that it's blood."

"A lot more sophisticated than your meatball sandwich."

"Hey, you diss the meatball, you diss me, 'kay?"

Viktor chuckled.

"So, captain," Yorath said. "Did General Holland give you our assignment?"

"He did, as a matter of fact," Ivory said before sipping her coffee. School coffee could never amount to what she had at home. "We're shipping out next week. To Mistral."

"We're operating within Mistral borders?" Renata said.

"We're not exactly welcome in Vacuo or Menagerie, are we? And Vale doesn't need our help. Our patrol is in the northernmost section of the continent of Anima. Our jurisdiction is still within the Mistral Kingdom's borders, but it's an extremely remote area which gets very little assistance from the country itself. Most of their resources are spread out around the temperate region. Mistral patrols are scarce in the north."

"I see," Yorath said. "The general is trying to secure Mistral's support just in case things heat up with Vacuo."

"Perhaps. That's not our concern, however. The Grimm's numbers have been increasing as of late, both within Atlas territory and just outside of it, particularly on Anima. We've taken the eastern border of our country as opposed to the western border."

"Makes sense," Renata said, leaning back in her chair as she finished her sandwich. "We have a strong military presence in the west because of the other continent."

"Yes. No-man's land may not belong to any of the kingdoms, but it's a viable route of attack for Vacuo should our two countries decide to go to war."

"You think they'd ignore the Labyrinth Treaty?"

"It's possible."

"I heard standing army guarding Salem's tomb will fire on anyone with no proper clearance," Viktor said. "Does not matter from what kingdom."

"This is true," Ivory said. "Although it's not out of the question, Vacuo likely could not use that continent as a staging point. All five kingdoms have a strong military presence surrounding the tomb. The base's personnel all live there. Their loyalty is not even to their respective kingdoms anymore."

"Right," Yorath said. "They all sleep every single night knowing that the thing they're guarding almost ended human civilization twenty years ago. I doubt even a direct order from General Holland would be obeyed if it meant risking Salem's release."

"Anyway," Ivory said, "as I said, we'll be shipping out in a week's time. Feel free to use that time as you wish."

 

* * * * *

 

Leon was glad to be out of the rain for once, but what he didn't expect was for this place to be so bitterly cold. His cloak was rainproof, though it was hardly a parka. At the very least, it blocked out the wind. He grabbed his belongings before disembarking the shuttle and walking out of the airport onto the streets of Atlas. He stood in awe at the massive buildings in the middle of the city. This was where ninety percent of Atlas's population resided. The remaining ten percent lived in tiny settlements around the icy continent of Solitas. Oasis was the largest of them, partly because of the fact that it was perpetually temperate rather than the permafrost that comprised the rest of the country.

Oasis. That was where she was from. That was his original destination, where he would deliver the bad news to her mother, but he had since decided to see Winter Schnee instead. If there was anyone in the world who could help him find her, it would be her Aunt Winter, who had the necessary resources and manpower at her disposal.

He wandered the streets of Atlas, unsure of where to even go. He had thought that downtown Vale was a dense place, but this definitely took the cake. The brightness of his red hood and the red trim of his otherwise black clothing stood out in this blue-gray jungle made of concrete and steel. He glanced down an alley as he passed by, spotting a number of homeless scattered about. It wasn't all that different from Vale, but it seemed the number here was much higher. He wondered how they managed to survive in these freezing temperatures, especially when it began to snow.

He looked up at the sky, blinking as a snowflake landed on his nose. He was ill-dressed for this weather, but at least he wasn't in the middle of a blizzard. Not yet, anyway. He clutched his cloak more tightly, trying to protect himself from the increasingly cold air.

It wasn't long before he found himself at the Atlas Academy. How he got here was beyond him, but he figured it was a good place to start. Winter Schnee might be an instructor at the school when she wasn't off on military duties. He looked up at the massive, imposing building. Unlike the beautiful and inviting campus he came from, this was more akin to a military installation. Beacon Academy had trees and fountains and statues and organically shaped layouts. Atlas Academy, in stark contrast, had concrete squares and rectangles in extreme abundance.

"It's like a friggin' prison," he mumbled.

"I don't believe this."

That voice was familiar. He hadn't heard it since the Vytal Festival, but there was no forgetting that voice. It was the most irritating thing he had ever had the displeasure of hearing. He turned to the source of that nuisance, facing Ivory Schnee.

"What in the world are _you_ doing here, Leon Rose?" she said, marching up to him.

"My business ain't with you, princess," he said with dismissal in his voice.

"Hah. Are you planning on transferring or something?"

"To a prison? Get real."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, I'm kind of in a rush. Does your mom teach here?"

"At the moment, no. She's on an assignment."

"Great," he sighed before turning to leave.

"Wait a minute, what are you doing here? And what do you want with my mother?"

"Forget about it. It has nothing to do with you."

"And what in the world are you doing here alone? Where is your team? And my cousin?"

His heart skipped a beat at that word. He was sure she noticed that obvious flinch just now. The sound of her stomping in his direction confirmed his suspicions. He looked down at Ivory as she barred his path.

"What happened to my cousin?" she fumed, her crystalline blue eyes appearing darker than normal.

"I said don't worry about it," he snapped back, only barely withholding the full brunt of his emotion. "Anyway, the hell do you care? Wouldn't you be the first person to be thrilled to find out that she's gone missing?"

"What did you just say?"

"Oh, what, did I hurt your feelings or something?"

"What do you mean she's gone missing?"

He didn't reply.

"Answer me, dammit!"

He looked elsewhere, avoiding her gaze. They might have been polar opposites, but Ivory reminded him too much of her. That snow-white hair, the same small stature. The only real physical difference between them aside from clothing was eye color and the fact that Ivory's facial expressions never brought out her softer side, whereas her cousin was always smiling.

Ivory closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding on to it for a moment before letting it out slowly. She looked up at Leon, whose lavender eyes were aimed off to the distance. It would be a simple matter to sidestep her and continue on his way, but he wasn't moving. What was he waiting for?

"Leon," she said, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it. "Tell me what you know. Please."

He slowly turned to her. Did she really just say 'please'?

"Look. Where are you staying right now?"

He shrugged. "I just landed. Never really had a plan or anything."

"Why am I not surprised? C'mon."

"Where?"

"To my house. You'll be my official guest."


	4. The Ivory Tower

CHAPTER IV

_The Ivory Tower_

 

Leon's eyes were wide as he stepped out of the luxury car he had ridden with Ivory and her team, who insisted on accompanying her as she invited Leon to the house. The entire ride had been quite the awkward one with Renata never taking her eyes off him and Viktor and Yorath sitting to either side of him, their eyes also fixed on him.

"You live _here_?" Leon said as he gawked at their mansion, which was now the tallest building in the city thanks to additions they had made in the past twenty years. It rose higher than even the CCTS tower due to the fact that the manor sat on elevated ground.

"For better or worse," Ivory said, standing next to him. "Yes, I suppose this is home, sweet home. You three don't need to follow me all the way to my room, you know."

"We just wanna be safe," Renata said. "You're team captain, after all."

"Well, your team captain is ordering you to go home."

"We're making the command decision to ignore your order," Yorath said.

"Is matter of safety, captain," Viktor said.

"I'll never get over your accent," Leon said. "J-Just, don't friggin' wipe my aura out again, big guy."

Viktor's vigilance was unflinching.

"Jeez. You guys all swear as if I'd do something to her."

"You never know," Renata said, folding her arms across her chest. "Speaking of which, you single?"

He reddened. "What kind of question is that?"

"Same kind of question I'm sure you ask all the ladies."

"All of a sudden I think I realize why you were staring at me the entire ride here."

She winked, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Okay, that's enough," Ivory said. "You're my guest, Leon Rose. Come."

He followed her up the stairs to the gigantic front doors, which were much larger up close than from afar. He looked up as she opened them. They must have been three stories in height, fitting for the colossal structure they adorned. The foyer was even more elegant than the outside, decorated with silvers, whites, blues, and golds.

"Hey, hey, hey," Leon said, hurrying to the staircase and touching the balustrade. "Is this handrail made of...ivory?"

Ivory took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, all the while never breaking eye contact with him.

"Captain is not impressed," Viktor said.

"What?" Leon said. "I'm just trying to lighten up the mood around here."

"Are you really?" Ivory said. "Or are you just trying to cover up your own depression?"

His demeanor rapidly fell back to melancholy.

"I apologize. I did not mean to say such a rude thing. Have you eaten?"

An apology was the last thing Leon expected from her. "Um, I had a small snack on the shuttle. That's about it."

"Klein should be preparing supper soon. I'll have him ready some for all of us."

"Ivory!" a voice came from upstairs.

Ivory looked up to see her cousin, the eldest of her Uncle Whitley's three children.

"You're home!" the eight-year-old yelled as he rushed down the steps, darting straight past Leon to give his elder cousin a big hug. She squatted to embrace him back.

"Have you been practicing, Finn?" Ivory asked him.

"I have! Watch!" He held out a hand, forming a small glyph.

"That's a good start. What else can you do with it?"

"Well, that's all right now. I still can't do all the cool stuff you can do."

"You'll get there eventually. You're keeping up with your studies as well, aren't you?"

"Yup!"

"Good. You'll eventually take over your father's business, you know."

"I won't let you down!"

"And I certainly hope you're treating your younger sisters well."

"Of course!" he said, throwing his fists on his hips. "I'm their big brother!"

"That's what I wanted to hear. Now, go on and finish your homework. We'll do some glyph exercises together later, okay?"

"Okay!"

Leon watched as the boy ran off. He turned to Ivory, who had a smile on her face. For that brief moment, he was looking at a different Schnee, but reality set back in much too soon. Still, he never expected to ever see such a warm look on her. He had come to know her as a cold person, aloof to everyone around her. Could he have been wrong all this time?

"Ah, Miss Schnee!" Klein said as he entered the foyer. "I see you've brought your team here along with..." He turned to Leon. "...a new student?"

"He's my personal guest," Ivory said. "Leon Rose."

"Hmm. Doesn't seem to be your type."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said as she threw her hands on her hips.

He chuckled, his eyes changing to yellow. "Oh, nothing at all! Will they all be staying for supper?"

"They will."

"I'll prepare something for all of you, then."

"We'll be eating separately from the rest of the family."

"Of course. As usual. Oh, and the coffee just finished brewing. Would you like me to bring you a cup?"

"For all five of us. Up to the recital hall, please."

"Certainly!"

"What's the matter?" Yorath said, sidling over to Leon. "The captain not quite what you were expecting?"

Leon glanced at him before turning back to Ivory, who was talking to Renata about something he couldn't hear.

"Just so you know, the three of us are very protective of her. If you do anything to hurt her, we will return that hurt to you many times over."

"Relax, dude," Leon said, looking at him sardonically. "I'm here on business. Besides, she's not my type."

"I just want to be sure you know where we all stand."

"Leon," Ivory said, approaching them. "If you have no place to stay, you are welcome to a guest room."

He shrugged. "I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude on your royal highness—"

"Don't be an idiot. I'm the one who offered."

"Okay, jeez. Why the heck are you being so nice to me anyway?"

She didn't answer.

"Cuz, to tell you the truth, I think I'm _more_ nervous of this 'nice Ivory' as opposed to the mean one."

"It's not any of your business."

She walked past him up the stairs, stopping at the first landing before looking down at him.

"Are you going to just stand there?"

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"I'm trying to give you a tour of the Schnee Family Manor."

He threw his arms out to the sides in surrender, sighing as he followed up after her. All three of her teammates were no more than five feet away from him at all times.

"The entire first floor is uninteresting," Ivory began, leading the way through a hall more spacious than anything Leon had ever experienced. "All that's down there is strictly stuff to impress guests."

"I thought I was a guest," Leon said. "You're not gonna try to impress me?"

"I said you were _my_ guest."

"Oh, I do apologize, Miss Schnee. I did not realize there was a distinction."

She gave him a dry look. "Anyway, all that's down there are the kitchen, dining halls, living rooms, and a ballroom. Plus the different facilities my uncle and grandfather use to impress their clients and business partners."

"That's a lot of rooms."

"Yes, most of which are completely useless to us. The second floor, where we are now, contains guest rooms, more living rooms and entertainment rooms, and the library."

"I figured you'd have a library. How many floors are in this house?"

"Enough."

"...Okay. I also notice that each 'floor' is tall enough to be two floors."

"You are correct."

"Hmm. I dunno if I could get used to a house this big. I'm too lazy to do so much damn walking." He yawned. "Not that I'd have a huge problem with it." He teleported twenty-five yards away before teleporting right back, catching a rose petal and holding it out for her. She stared at him coldly.

"Captain is not impressed," Viktor said.

"Yes, I can see that," Leon said, dropping the petal, which disappeared before it hit the tile.

"If you're finished with your antics," Ivory said, "we can continue the tour."

"Look, Ivory. You don't have to show all this off to me. I've been impressed with you since we first met."

The air instantly became awkward. Ivory felt her face warming up, but she had always been good at feigning a stoic demeanor. Leon, on the other hand, was bright red.

"That came out wrong," he said quickly.

"Coming from you, Leon Rose, I'm not so sure," Ivory said.

He sighed heavily. "Dude, seriously. I'm not into you."

"Good. I'm not into you either."

"Good."

"Good."

They both folded their arms across their chests, staring one another down. Renata slowly leaned closer to Ivory.

"Should I stab him?" she whispered loudly.

"Not yet," Ivory said.

"Dammit. I was hoping I'd be the first to penetrate him."

Yorath began coughing.

"Anyway," Ivory said, grabbing a visibly perturbed Leon by the wrist and leading him down the hall. "Let's continue."

She finished the tour at the recital hall, where Klein was awaiting them with a tray of coffee for all five. Leon noticed his eyes were back to their light brown color. He wondered if he had been seeing things earlier, if his yellow eyes were a product of the lighting or something.

"You know how I like mine, Klein," Renata said.

"Already done, Miss Nováček," he said with a smile. "Mister Schtolteheim, yours with cream and no sugar, and Mister Nikolayev, one sugar and no cream."

"Bol'shoye spasibo, Gospodin Kleyn," Viktor said with a nod.

"Danke," Yorath said.

"You're both very welcome, gentlemen," Klein said. "Mister Leon Rose, how will you have your coffee?"

"Lots of cream and lots of sugar, please," he said.

"Is four sugars enough?"

"Make it five!"

He chuckled. "Very well."

Leon took a sip of the coffee. "Huh. This tastes familiar." He watched as Ivory drank hers black. Bizarre. She took her coffee the same way.

"What are you staring at?" Ivory said, irritation masking her face.

"N-Nothing," he said, turning away from her as he enjoyed his coffee.

"Snacks?" Klein said, presenting a tray of mini-quiche for them.

"Don't gotta tell me twice," Renata said, digging in.

"Spinach and cheese on the left, tomato and basil on the right."

"Tell me, Klein," Yorath began, "is it you who cooks this, or do you merely deliver?"

"Depends on what's being prepared. I'm a master sandwich artisan."

"So I have you to thank for the blutwurst sandwich I ate for lunch."

"I do know that's your favorite."

"I knew I liked you. Is this going to be a regular thing from now on?"

"That all depends on the mistress."

They turned to Ivory.

"Klein is a busy man," she said. "My grandfather can be quite demanding."

"Sounds like a no," Renata sighed. "Too bad. That meatball sandwich you put together was pretty awesome."

"Did you like the extra peppers I threw in?" Klein asked.

"Fuck yeah."

"Y'all are makin' me hungry," Leon said, walking over to the piano in the center of the room. He ran his finger across the glossy hardwood cover. Spotless. As he expected. To the side of the room was a wood and glass showcase containing violins, violas, a cello, a double bass, and two guitars, one nylon-stringed and the other steel. He glanced over at the group momentarily. They were all preoccupied with conversation. Only Ivory noticed what he was doing, but she didn't stop him.

He opened the cabinet and pulled out the nylon guitar. He had contemplated taking the cheaper looking of the two, but both looked like they could easily cost thousands of Lien each. He strummed a G, cringing at the discordant tune before reaching up to tune the strings. Once he had everything squared away, he plucked softly, singing a tune in his head.

Ivory watched silently from afar. He wasn't facing them, but she could see that his eyes were closed as he felt every pluck of the strings. She had no idea he was a musician. From the way he swayed with his own music, she could tell that this was a regular thing for him, not just some leisurely hobby he only did from time to time.

"You're staring."

She turned quickly to face Renata, who was grinning. Ivory's face twisted into irritation. "And you should mind your own business," she snapped.

"Miss Schnee," Klein began, "is there anything else you need?"

"Yes. Please bring me some cold water so I can pour it over Renata's head."

He chuckled with the other two boys.

"Supper will be ready in an hour," Klein said, "but I suggest waiting a bit so you don't have to see you-know-whom."

Ivory sighed. "Running into him is inevitable, though. Thank you, Klein."

The family butler bowed before leaving with the empty trays.

"Nice digs, though," Leon said, rejoining them. "Seriously."

Ivory looked past him. He had returned the guitar to the showcase. "Are you impressed?"

"I already told you. It's not like you had to actually work to impress me, you know. I'm a country boy. I impress easy."

"Let's head to the deck, then. We can enjoy some good weather for once while the sun is still out."

He followed her to the upper courtyard, which faced the sunset. The instant the cold outside air hit him, he shivered, clutching his cloak closer. Despite all of the depressing grays and blues and stark whites, he couldn't deny the impressive architecture of it all. Most of the city was built like blocks of concrete, but this place offered a much more pleasing design.

He watched as Ivory stepped over to the edge of the balcony, leaning forward against the marble guard rail. A small breeze caught her long, white ponytail, blowing it to the side. It was now that he noticed how she wore her hair. It was identical to the way Weiss wore it, except that the bun and tail were to the left as opposed to the right. She held out a hand, catching a single snowflake that fell from the heavens.

His heart skipped a beat as Ivory was temporarily replaced by another Schnee again, complete with different clothing and a smile that warmed his heart. But when she turned to face him, she didn't have those light-brown, hazel eyes that he expected. They were back to crystalline blue, topping off a harsh facial expression.

"What are all of you still doing back there?" she asked the group.

"Waiting for him," Yorath said, pointing at the guest.

"What?" Leon said. "Why me?"

"Leon, come join me," Ivory said.

With a sigh, he marched over to her. "You happy?"

"Yes."

He watched as she turned back around, leaning against the banister to watch the sunset. He, too, faced the sun as it touched the horizon, eventually disappearing.

"You know this isn't good for your eyes," Leon said.

"Not as bad as dawn," Ivory said. "The planet's rotation redshifts the sunset light, so the rays you're getting right now are not as intense as during sunrise."

"The hell? You sounded just like Xanthus right now."

She turned to him. "Who?"

"Never mind. He was the dude with the glasses on Athena's team."

"Oh, the tactician."

"Yeah, sure."

"Supper should be ready for us. Let's head back inside."

They sat in the auxiliary dining room. This was a lot cozier than the overly large and ostentatious main hall, allowing them to sit closer together.

"There's a first for everything," Yorath said quietly to Renata. "When's the last time we ate in this room, huh?"

"Never?" Renata said.

"Yeah. Why's the captain changing all of a sudden? I mean, the tours, the coffee, the way she greeted her cousin around us."

"She's been this way since the Vytal Festival."

"So you noticed too, did you?"

Klein directed his staff as they prepared dinner for them. He was the one to personally serve Ivory. Tonight's meal was started off with some Caesar's salad and a choice of soup.

"Mister Rose," a servant asked Leon, "would you care for some broccoli cheddar soup or tomato and basil?"

"Huh?" he said. "Oh, yeah, sure. I-I mean, tomato and basil, please."

The main course was a glazed veal with roasted tomatoes and buttered artichoke on the side, accompanied by rice pilaf. Leon kept his mouth shut as he eyed all of the food on the table. Not only was this an enormous amount of food, it was all high-quality as well. As expected of a Schnee.

Dessert was even more impressive than the rest of the meal. Leon had had flambé before, but never prepared at tableside. Klein took this chance to show off his culinary skills, impressing Renata and the others.

"The first serving goes to the lady of the house, of course," Klein said, adding an extra helping to Ivory's dish. "Will you all have some coffee to finish your meal?"

"Yes, please," Ivory said.

"And for everyone else?"

Leon was the only one to accept. He tried the flambé. It was great, albeit ultra sweet. He figured Athena would have enjoyed herself here. She always liked the extra sweet treats. Although, he wondered what the dinner table interaction between two rivals would be like.

"Your coffee, Mister Rose," Klein said as he reached for sugar cubes.

"You can hold the sugar and cream this time," Leon said, accepting the mug.

"A wise choice."

Leon looked over as Ivory conversed with her team. It was the first time today he had witnessed them talking so openly. He figured it wasn't very often that they held idle chat. Maybe it was the alcohol he could still taste in his mouth from the flambé. On second thought, from the way the quartet laughed and talked, he wasn't so sure this was a rare occurrence. Renata was the most relaxed of the bunch, pulling her legs up into her seat. Yorath was also casually leaned in his chair, resting his elbow on the armrest, his palm against his chin as Ivory recalled a story. Even the usually stoic Viktor was smiling and chuckling, slouching in his seat.

Only Ivory remained upright, prim and proper as always. But in spite of her formal posture, Leon sensed ease. Her smiles and quiet laughter came closer and closer to the one he longed for, though always missing the mark. He wondered if Ivory was even capable of truly smiling, truly laughing. It couldn't have been easy to bear the weight of an entire family legacy on her shoulders.

That was the same problem _she_ had.

"Leon," Ivory said, snapping him out of his trance.

"Hmm?" he said, looking up at her over his coffee.

"Have you and your friends experienced anything like that?"

He straightened up in his chair. "Sorry, I was spacing out just now. What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," she said with a small smile, looking down at her mug. "Never mind."

"No, tell me. I wanna know."

She looked up at him, her crystalline blue eyes locking with his lavenders. His look told her that he was being sincere with that comment.

"Your headmaster," she said.

"What about him?"

"Does anyone ever play pranks on him the way some of the students do to Headmaster Holland?"

"See, pranking _that_ guy makes sense."

Yorath and Renata burst into chuckles.

"But Headmaster Pine? Everyone kinda just loves him. Although..."

"Don't keep secret," Viktor said. "Share with friends."

"Wait, so I'm your friend now?"

"Captain thinks so. I think so. You are friend."

"Okay, comrade," Leon said in his best attempt to mimic his accent.

"That was horrible," Yorath said.

"It was. Anyway, my, uh, great uncle, Qrow Branwen, he actually teaches classes at Beacon. _He's_ the one who pranks _us_."

"What?" Renata laughed. "Your professor pranks his _students_?"

"Yep."

"Oh, that is awesome! We gotta sit through one of these classes. At least once."

"Is he at least a good instructor?" Yorath asked.

Leon hesitated before giving him a "Yeah."

"That answer does not inspire confidence."

The group shared a chuckle.

"Anyway," Ivory began. "I promised Finn I'd work on our Semblance with him tonight. Leon, we can talk about this thing involving my cousin later before we go to bed."

There was awkward silence among them.

"Separately," Ivory added.

"Yeah, of course," Leon said quickly.

"Hey," Renata said, pointing her steak knife at him. "You better not get any ideas tonight."

"Would you all just relax? I'm here on business!"

"Just no funny business," Viktor said.

Leon threw his head back in surrender. "I mean, for fuck's sake, it's not like she can't defend herself. She beat my sister in the tournament!"

Ivory felt her hand flinch.

"And besides that, what the hell do you all think of me, huh?"

"We just want you to know that there are consequences—" Yorath began.

"Yeah, if I ever hurt Ivory—I'm not here to hurt _anyone_ , jeez! I'm here to find my team leader!"

"What the hell makes you think she's here?" Renata said.

"I don't fucking know."

"My training with Finn will start soon," Ivory said, standing up. "You're free to roam around the manor, Leon. Just don't break anything. Klein will assign you to a guest room."

They all watched as she left the table. Her teammates all turned to Leon.

"What?" he said.


	5. Survival of the Fittest

CHAPTER V

_Survival of the Fittest_

 

Echo spied on a deer in the distance. It had yet to notice her. She made sure to stay downwind of it. After all, prey usually smelled their predators long before hearing them. She had a clear shot of the animal and took it, sinking her arrow right in its heart. It took off, but she ran to where the blood trail began, keeping an eye on the general direction it was headed. In a few more seconds, it would be down on the ground, bleeding out. She tracked it carefully, coming upon the dying deer after a few minutes. She nocked an arrow, taking aim at its head to put out of its misery when her Semblance went ablaze, warning her of danger nearby.

She leaped up to a tree branch, hopping up one more level before looking around. She spotted a lone Beowolf sniffing the air, searching for her. Where there was one of these things, there were typically more. Rarely did these Grimm travel alone. She watched and waited until she was sure of her situation. After several minutes of observing, she concluded that this one was, in fact, a solo Beowolf, unusual for this type.

She nocked an arrow before letting it soar. The Earth Dust gave it increased penetrative capability and it pierced right through the monster's skull, killing it instantly. She remained in her hiding place, maintaining vigilance in case there were more. After waiting for nearly ten minutes, she hopped down to the forest floor lightly, retrieving the Earth Dust arrow from the ground and going to the deer, which was already dead. She pulled the arrow out of its side, wiping off the blood before proceeding to drag the carcass all the way back to camp.

"There she is," Perseus said. "Got dinner for us and everything."

"Quite a big boy you snagged, huh?" Penny said, helping her with the animal. "Need a knife?"

"Got one, thanks," Echo said before getting started on dressing the meat.

"Make sure it's not too big," Athena said to Xanthus, who was stoking the fire. "Don't wanna attract any unwanted attention."

"Got it," he acknowledged.

"Area's clear," Ingrid said as she and Yuan returned to camp. "No Grimm around. No people either. This place really is remote."

"It's outside of Vale territory," Perseus said, cleaning his sword. "No surprise there."

"I did run into a lone Beowolf while hunting," Echo said as she separated meat from skin and bone.

"Only one?" Athena said. "No pack?"

"No pack."

"That's unusual," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "No Grimm other than the one?"

"None."

"I'll make another round," Ingrid said.

"Echo, go with her," Athena said. "Yuan, we'll take over dressing the meat."

Echo headed out into the woods with Ingrid, keeping high in the trees, communicating nonverbally to mask their presence as much as they could. They had cleared an entire area centered around their campsite roughly a mile in diameter when they headed back.

"Your old village isn't far from here, right?" Ingrid said.

"It's a little under a week's hike to the south," Echo said. "The terrain makes it more difficult than it should be."

"No problem for us, though."

"Yeah, but it's not just you and me. I'm used to these woods and you're a Faunus."

"Heh. Perseus isn't exactly the most nimble out of our group, huh?"

"Hell no."

They shared a chuckle. Camp was within sight when Ingrid stopped.

"This looks like a good clearing," she said.

"For?" Echo said.

"Some CQC training. C'mon."

Echo transformed Sentinel into its staff form as Ingrid swung Shadow Blitz into position.

"The good thing is we both use similar weapons," Ingrid said, "so I can teach you actual staff fighting. Did you ever receive formal training with that weapon?"

Echo shook her head.

"Good. I mean, not _good_ good, but at least I can teach you something instead of telling you stuff you already know."

"I mostly watched how you fought with your weapon and mimicked what you do," Echo said, "but it's not exactly the easiest thing."

"Yeah, I've noticed you're a bit rough on the edges with staff work. Good thing is you're an ace with a bow. Plus, that arrow stabbing thing you do is really good."

"I learned that from someone I used to know back home."

"A friend?"

She didn't answer.

"I see. Okay, let's get started. You already know basic strikes and parries, so let's just see where you're at for the most part."

Ingrid went on the offensive, holding nothing back against her companion. Echo's defense against sweep attacks was solid, regardless of direction, but thrusts appeared to be her weak point, which wasn't surprising.

"Thrusts are typically more difficult to defend against because it's harder to see it coming," Ingrid said. "That said, enough practice and you'll figure it out. That's one of the reasons expert staff users and spearmen tend not to allow their opponent to see the length of their weapon. You notice how Athena always holds her spear?"

Echo nodded. Almost always did Athena position her weapon pointed directly at the enemy. This ensured that the length of the spear would not be obvious, though this tactic only worked on all but the best of fighters. Heeding Ingrid's instructions, Echo changed up her staff hold, gripping the topmost section with her left hand while clutching the middle with her right, aiming the far end at a shallow angle toward the ground.

"This grip allows you two major advantages," Ingrid began. "First, you have a much more powerful swing with your strong hand in the middle of the shaft and your support hand at the very rear. This also gives you a greater reach than normal. Let's try another round."

Once again, Ingrid attacked, giving it her all. She nailed Echo once in the ribs and again on the back, sending her lurching over in pain. Even with her aura fully intact, both of those hits were strong enough to sting.

"Have you figured out the problem?" Ingrid said.

"Yeah," Echo said. "I'm, like, half your speed and reaction time."

"Do you know the reason?"

She shook her head.

"There's one thing my dad always emphasized while teaching me how to fight with a staff. This weapon is nothing more than an extension of your body. As fluid as you are with hand-to-hand fighting, you should be similarly fluid with your staff. Athena went through some basic hand-to-hand with you, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's do that for a bit."

They both set their staves against a tree before engaging in a fistfight. Echo's skill was much better without her staff and she was able to avoid and counter most of Ingrid's attacks. The latter was still the better at close range fighting, though.

"You're actually really good at this," Ingrid said.

"Not as good as the rest of you, though," Echo panted.

"Yeah, well, no one I know can nail a spy drone in the sky right in the camera lens with an arrow. Okay, let's grab our weapons."

After arming themselves, they faced off in the clearing again.

"Close your eyes," Ingrid said, to which Echo complied. "Remember, you're not holding a weapon in your hands. _You_ are the weapon. Your staff is nothing more than an extension of you." She gave Echo another minute or so to meditate and clear her mind. "You ready?"

Echo opened her eyes, nodding. Without another word, Ingrid attacked, starting with an overhead strike, which Echo parried before countering with a thrust that missed thanks to Ingrid's superior speed, but Echo's own agility had increased significantly, matching Ingrid's. Even thrusts no longer posed a major threat to the archer. She was capable of responding to and defending against anything Ingrid had to throw at her. Still, the cat Faunus was the superior staff fighter and after a long bout, she exploited a weakness in Echo's form and took her legs out from under her.

"Ow," Echo said, landing face-up in the dirt.

"The good thing," Ingrid said with a chuckle, extending a hand to her companion, "is that the Grimm aren't exactly likely to try and trip you like that."

Echo accepted the help. "Yeah, but still. If that actually were to happen, I'm flat on my ass and probably dead."

"There's another thing I've been meaning to ask you. Your Semblance. How does it work when you're in the middle of an actual fight like that?"

"It's basically on fire the whole time."

"Shit."

"Yeah, it's not the most helpful thing in the world, but I did notice something just now."

"See what happens when you clear your mind before a fight?"

Echo chuckled. "What I noticed was that the intensity fluctuates depending on what's going on. Like, every time you moved in for an actual attack, it went up sharply, but when your intention was, I'm guessing, not to attack, like to recuperate or something, it would go back down. It never goes to zero, though, since there's constant danger, but it goes up and down depending on the severity of the threat."

Ingrid swung her staff without warning and Echo instantly blocked.

"So it spiked just now, I'm guessing," Ingrid said.

"Yeah," Echo said. "Like, _hugely_."

"Huh. Okay, that's something we need to hone. Because that's super useful in the middle of a fight. I mean, you're almost like reading your enemy's mind."

"I was wondering what the hell all that noise was," Athena said, joining them. "You tryin'a steal my girl away, Ingrid?"

Echo reddened and Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"Looks like you're getting better," Athena said as she wrapped an arm around an increasingly shy Echo.

"Y-Yeah," she said. "Ingrid's a better staff fighter than me, so she's showing me the ropes."

"Okay." She kissed her on the side of the head before turning to Ingrid. "I got my eye on you."

"You and Leon really are siblings," Ingrid sighed heavily.

Echo took the first watch when night fell. The plan was to move out as soon as dawn broke, but there was no way Echo was getting any sleep tonight. Home wasn't that far away, even if it would take them days to hike there. This forest alone was already home to her. She recognized all of the different trees and shrubs, the scent of the earth and the wind. She never ventured this far from the village back then, but it wasn't difficult to navigate.

Her village sat at the foot of a mountain, from which flowed a river that supplied them with water and fish. It helped keep them self-sufficient, even that deep in the woods, but sporadic Grimm attacks ensured that the village would never grow too large. Fortunately, the woods were thick enough to provide a natural barrier against large attacks.

It was pitch black, but Echo was still wide awake. She refrained from rousing anyone else to take the next watch. She had a better chance of picking up on trouble anyway thanks to her Semblance. Mostly it was because she could not take her mind off of what her home might be going through. Messages took forever to get from the village to the outside world due to the sheer travel time through the thick woods. It was likely that the request for help had come almost a month ago, perhaps more. By now, there might not be a village left to return to.

She shook her head, attempting to push those thoughts out of her mind. She needed to calm herself. Her team was counting on her to keep watch for any threats while they slept. After about an hour, she jumped down from her branch to walk around, trying to burn off some of the excess energy that circulated through her body. When she returned to her starting point, she stopped at the sound of leaves crunching, turning around to face Athena, whose countenance was barely visible in what little moonlight was able to make it through the canopy.

"Why didn't you wake me up to take second watch?" she asked her.

"I can't sleep," Echo said. "I figured I'd keep watch all night."

"That's not good for you. I need you at peak condition. You know that."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Hey," Athena said, taking a step closer. "You worried about home?"

Echo nodded, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

"Have faith. You guys've lasted out here this long. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't continue on the same way."

"But the Grimm have increased in number again."

"Sure, but look how thick this forest is. You think it'll be easy for them to just take your village?"

She didn't answer. Athena walked up to her and wrapped her arms all around her, bringing some warmth to her body and soul.

"It'll be okay," Athena said, leaning her head on top of Echo's. "Besides, you've got us."

Echo nodded. Athena was going to pull away when Echo held her tightly.

"I don't wanna let go just yet," she said.

Athena smiled before leading her to a nearby tree, sitting down beside her. There was just enough moonlight at this spot for her to see a tear glistening as it rolled down Echo's cheek. She wiped away the tear before leaning in to kiss her partner, who chased after her for another kiss as she pulled back.

Echo looked up at the sky as Athena's kisses moved to her cheek, then her chin, and then her neck, her hands exploring her waist and hips and legs as her lips tenderly touched her skin. Echo returned the fervor, kissing Athena on her shoulder before the latter moved up to nibble on her ear. Lightning shot through Echo's body, her hairs standing on end as Athena whispered to her.

"What do you want me to do next, Echo?"                      

Echo had nothing to say. She wanted Athena to take the reins herself and do whatever she chose. Athena picked up on her wishes and she smiled at her before kissing her on the mouth, moving down inch by inch to her throat. Echo gasped as her partner's hand moved to the inside of her thigh and she grabbed her wrist.

"What's wrong?" Athena asked, looking her in the eye.

"I-I dunno if I'm ready for this yet," Echo panted.

"Okay."

After slowing down her advances, Athena sat beside Echo, pulling her close.

"Thanks," Echo said.

Athena kissed her on the head. "We make terrible night guards."

Echo couldn't help but chuckle. Of course, her partner and team leader understood that Echo's Semblance was infallible. Even in the middle of heated passion, her Semblance would not fail to warn her of impending danger.

She looked up at her partner, whose eyes were closed. She admired how her golden hair seemed to shine even in the moonlight. She leaned against her shoulder, wondering how she would vocalize her feelings for her. After all, Athena was everything to her. She loved her with all of her heart, and she was just as much _in love_ with her.

But saying it out loud was a lot scarier than merely thinking about it.

 

* * * * *

 

Ingrid tackled Yuan to the ground as a giant Nevermore swooped into try and grab him. They both looked up as it passed overhead.

"Thanks," he said.

"C'mon, let's get back to the group," Ingrid said, pulling him to his feet before leading the run back to their formation.

The team stuck to a clearing to keep from being overwhelmed in a confined space. The Grimm attack today wasn't too intense, their numbers nullified by the thick woods, but they nevertheless kept coming. As promised, however, Penny stuck to the sidelines, observing quietly instead of participating. She would only get involved if they faced a threat that warranted her intervention. Otherwise, they were expected to get through this alive and on their own.

She kept close watch over them as they expertly fought through wave after wave of Grimm of all types. She needed to suppress her strong desire to protect them. After all, if she sheltered them from the world, they would lack the tools necessary to survive it. It was the same thing _he_ had done with her and her friends almost twenty years ago, putting them through the training of their lives, ensuring that they had what it took not to die out there. It was painful at times, downright life-threatening in some cases, but it was because of the training he put them through that they had all survived that war.

Penny was not going to deprive the next generation of that treatment. But at the same time, deep in her heart was an irresistible need to keep these children safe.

 _Then again,_ she thought, her empathy Semblance allowing the determination from all six of them to flood her mind, _they're not children anymore. Each one of them has what it takes to live up to the legacies their parents left behind. And the other three are carving out their own legacies. Xanthus, your parents would be damn proud of you if they could see you right now. Perseus, I'm sure your dad's real smug knowing his boy's one of the best of Beacon. And Echo, you came from almost nothing and now you're among the best of the best._

"Meow Mix!" Athena shouted.

"I really hate that name!" Ingrid yelled back before going on a rampage through the hordes of Grimm, supported by Yuan to her right and everyone else behind her.

Their formation made short work of this last batch of Grimm and they stood guard for a while. Athena turned to Echo, who nodded before leaping up to the highest tree she could find. The large Nevermore was fleeing to the west and as far as she could tell, the rest of the Grimm in the woods were also running away.

"Looks like they're leaving," Echo said, landing beside her leader and partner.

"They figured out that they picked the wrong team to screw with," Perseus said, sheathing his sword and hanging his shield on his back.

"Penny," Xanthus said, turning to their superior, "is it usual for Grimm that young to be so fearful of Huntsmen? Most of the Grimm we've faced until now have been mostly reckless and extra aggressive. I'm surprised these stopped after a while."

"It's not common," Penny began, "but it's not impossible. It's mostly size that gives away their age, but it's not a precise thing. Some Grimm also grow faster than others. Individually, I mean. Like, you can have two Beowolves that are the same age and one will be a bit bigger than the other one."

"Kinda like people," Perseus said.

"Yeah. It's entirely possible that you just fought through Grimm that are older than they appeared."

"So, there's no real reason to suspect Omega Grimm intervening just now?" Xanthus said.

"While we can never be completely sure about that, their attacks weren't tactical enough to warrant suspicion of Omega. Although, the Omegas are pretty smart. It wouldn't surprise me if they allowed their Grimm to do what they wanted to mask their own presence."

Xanthus noticed the assurance in her posture and her voice. It wasn't just the Grimm's movements. He realized that she had such confidence in her statement because of the fact that she had the equipment to detect the presence of Omegas. He kept his mouth shut. That was a secret between him and her only. Still, it was reassuring to know that they had an extremely capable Huntress watching over them.

"We have enough meat, don't we?" Athena said to Echo, who nodded.

"We didn't even go through half of the deer I got," she said.

"Okay. Let's move on."


	6. Concrete Jungle

CHAPTER VI

_Concrete Jungle_

 

Leon looked around as he strolled through the streets of Atlas. It had just stopped snowing, but that didn't matter to him. Ivory would be at the academy all day and he wasn't interested in being cooped up in their big manor for ten hours and he left promptly, letting Klein know of his intentions. Of everyone in her circle, her butler was the only one who didn't seem to be out for his blood. After Ivory had left, he had spent some time in conversation with the gentleman. From his story, Leon realized that Ivory certainly wasn't the cold and often mean individual he had come to know. Still, her harshness was more overpowering than anything else about her.

 _Kinda like her coffee,_ he thought, peeking into a deli. His stomach rumbled. Lunchtime wasn't far off. He remembered Ivory leaving the manor without anything packed today and he stepped into the deli, picking out something he thought she'd like, grabbing sandwiches for the rest of her team as well.

He yawned as he continued down the sidewalk with the bag of sandwiches in hand, longing for his backpack, which he had left in his room. He had waited for her all night so they could talk about the issue he had come all the way out here for, but she never came and he had ended up falling asleep, waking up when she was already getting ready to leave for school.

"It's your fault, Ivory," he said, scratching his head. "Now I get to bug you during lunch. Jeez, it's damn cold here."

Atlas Academy was quite a walk from the manor, though not exceedingly far. It was just before noon when he finally hit campus and he stepped right into the crowd, utterly failing to blend in. He was the only one dressed in black and dark red. Everyone else was in their signature uniforms of blues and grays.

 _Well, this totally isn't awkward at all,_ he thought as he glanced from student to student.

_"Is that a new student?"_

_"A transfer, maybe."_

_"He looks like quite the troublemaker."_

_"I wonder what's in that brown bag he's holding."_

_"I bet you it's a gun or maybe a bomb."_

_"No, it's gotta be porn magazines or something."_

He coughed to himself at that last comment. "What the hell do these people think of me?" he mumbled to himself.

He memorized a map on the wall before heading straight to the courtyard, where he suspected Ivory and her team would be gathering. She hadn't brought lunch from home and he figured they would be there to get food at the campus student center.

 

* * * * *

 

"I don't believe this," Ivory said, her team stopping with her at the edge of the courtyard.

"What is it?" Renata asked before her eyes landed on the same thing she was looking at. "Huh. I guess he couldn't live without you."

"Should I teach him lesson?" Viktor asked Ivory.

Without answering, she stomped down the stairs, forcing her way through the crowd to him.

"I suppose she doesn't want you stealing all her fun," Yorath chuckled as they followed after their team leader.

"Leon Rose!" Ivory said as she marched to him.

"Oh, hey," he said, holding up the brown paper bag. "I got us some lunch!"

"Lunch?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me you guys already ate."

She was dumbfounded.

"Ivory?"

"No, we haven't eaten," Renata said, sidling up to him. "What exactly are you planning, hmm?"

"Planning?" Leon said. "The heck do you mean?"

"You trying to win us over or something?"

He chuckled. "No, I just wanna have lunch. I couldn't friggin' stand being locked up in the house all day so I left and grabbed some sandwiches from a nearby deli."

"That depends on what kind of sandwich," Yorath said.

"Klein told me you like, uh, something something bloot worst or something?"

"A good try, but it's blutwurst."

"Yeah, that's the stuff. And I know the big guy just likes assloads of meat and Renata likes meatball and sausage, but they didn't have either, so I hope you're okay with lots and lots of soppressata and capocollo, same as Viktor."

"You have pretty good taste in cured meats," Renata said, accepting the sandwich from Leon.

He turned to Ivory. "You're good with that, too, right? Ours has prosciutto and muenster. Unless you don't like that then we can trade with Renata and Viktor cuz theirs has pepperjack instead of—"

"No, this will be acceptable," Ivory said, accepting the sandwich from him.

"Cool. So, y'all just eat here with everybody else, or do y'all have your own private spot or something?"

"We can eat here," Ivory said as she sat at an empty table.

"Huh. Honestly, I'm kinda surprised," Leon said, sitting across from her. Viktor and Yorath bordered him. "Man, talk about a sausage fest."

Ivory opened up her sandwich. The meat and cheese was accompanied by tomatoes, lettuce, some onions, mayonnaise, and olive oil. She looked up at him, wondering how he knew the way she liked her sandwiches. He had to have gone to Klein. Even still, that didn't explain why he went out of his way to figure out what she liked.

"Did I mess it up?" Leon asked her.

"No," she said. "It's fine."

"Cool."

The group ate in silence. Leon noticed the space that existed between this table and every other occupied table in the courtyard. It seemed no one wanted to approach Ivory. In a way, she and her cousin were similar, and yet in others, they were complete opposites.

"So, tell me," Leon said, looking around the group. "Why did you all get into the academy?"

No one answered for a while. Ivory was the one to break the silence of her team.

"To follow in my mother's footsteps," she said.

"I heard you've already got a commission under her waiting for you when you graduate at the end of this school year," Leon said.

"That is correct. I am expected to graduate at the rank of Second Lieutenant, just like anyone else who goes through officer school. Just because I am a Schnee doesn't mean I get preferential treatment. I must climb the ranks same as anyone else."

Although he figured that to be true, something told Leon that she would progress much faster than anyone else.

"Sounds like quite the burden," he said.

Ivory's flinch was ever so slight, but Leon picked up on it.

"What about you, big guy?" Leon said, turning to Viktor.

"To protect family," he said. "I come from small village to the west. Grimm always attack us, even in snow time."

"I see. It's kinda lame that your Semblance is mostly useless against the Grimm, though, since they don't have auras. Then again, with your strength, it's probably not even necessary. What about you, Mister Schtolteheim? Did I say it right?"

Yorath chuckled. "Yes, you did," he said, to which Leon fist pumped. "I joined because I come from a long line of Atlas military officers. Like the captain, I am expected to follow in the family's legacy."

"You okay with that, though?"

"Sure. Even as a boy, I've always seen myself becoming a military officer, just like my elder brother and sisters, just like my father and his father and his father's father."

"Wait, does your family go all the way back to the Great War?"

"We do. It's also something we don't talk about very often."

Leon acknowledge with a simple nod before turning to Renata. "What about the pretty ninja of the team?"

She smirked at him. "Captain, where did you find this guy? I like him."

"He's all yours," Ivory said, picking up and eating a tomato that fell out of her sandwich.

"You wanna know my story?"

Leon nodded.

"I don't have any family. I grew up on the streets of Atlas, down at the very southern edge, where Grimm attacks were more common than the rest of Atlas, which is protected by walls and natural topography. Have you been through the area?"

"No, but the shuttle flew over it on the way to the port in the west. You grew up in those slums?"

"They weren't slums back in the day. They only became that way because of the big population explosion of the last twenty years. All I know is, by the time I was old enough to remember shit, I had no family. I have no clue what happened to them or if they're even still alive."

"Was that when you figured out what your Semblance was?"

"Yeah. I was thirteen years old when I first killed a man who was attacking me. I had the overpowering urge to turn invisible and just like that, he couldn't see, hear, smell—anything—me. And then I stabbed him in the neck. And ran. Didn't stop for a long time."

Leon took note of her body language as she recounted her story. She didn't so much as hesitate. She really was an assassin of the highest order. What he wondered was why she was so willing to share such a background with who was essentially a stranger. He figured it was her way of warning him, that she was more than capable of murder.

"I figured out that my Semblance also works on Grimm," Renata continued. "And now here I am."

"An assassin of Grimm," Leon said, leaning back in his chair as he finished his sandwich. "That's pretty awesome."

"You're not scared of me?"

"Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because she could kill you and you'd never see her coming," Yorath said.

"If she wanted me dead, I woulda been done yesterday. So, nah, you don't worry me. Besides, I think we might have a thing goin' on, you and me."

Renata winked at him and he winked back.

"So, Leon likes older women," Viktor said.

"Wait a sec," Leon said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a red rose, tossing it to Renata, who caught it before sniffing it. "A pretty red rose for a pretty lady."

"Oh, so I'm a _lady_ now, am I?" Renata said.

"Hell yeah."

"First time for everything, I guess," she said as she tucked the rose in her hair.

"I don't think that suits you," Yorath said.

"Yeah, it doesn't, but fuck it. I've always wanted to wear flowers in my hair."

Viktor chuckled.

"So, then, Leon," Ivory began, "do you plan on following me around all day?"

"Why not?" he said. "I wanna check out the competition."

"You do know the tournament's already over, don't you?"

"Yup, and I wanna see what it is about this school that makes champions."

She sighed. "You really won't just leave, will you?"

"I mean, if you really want me to leave, I'll leave."

She did want him to leave. He had no business on campus, not to mention he needed to acquire a guest pass before he could even roam around and that was too much hassle for her to take care of especially when he had literally no purpose here other than to bug her—

"I'll get you a guest pass," she said, interrupting her own thoughts.

All three of her teammates looked right at her.

"Follow me."

"Okay," Leon said.

The others exchanged glances before cleaning up the table and following after their leader and her guest. Leon trailed right behind her, hands folded on top of his head.

"What do you think is on her mind?" Yorath whispered to Renata, who shrugged. "You're her partner. You're supposed to know what she's thinking."

"The hell kind of logic is that?" Renata said.

"This pass will grant you the privilege to visit our campus," Ivory said, handing the card to him. "Keep it around your neck at all times."

"Yes, ma'am!" he said, mock saluting her.

"And even though you have this pass, please don't wander around aimlessly. You'll probably get kicked out if you get in people's way."

"I mean, I'm mostly here to hang out with you guys."

"Well, we have class in about five minutes."

"Is your teacher gonna care if I sit in?"

"I suppose we'll find out."

 

* * * * *

 

Winter looked down at her desk, trying to let the news sink in.

"You're sure about this?" she said, facing her monitor.

"We don't have any actual evidence to substantiate," Oscar began, "but I trust Penny's word. Also, this is not the first time she's gone into a Labyrinth. According to one of her teammates, Yuan Ren, she has gone in numerous times over more than two months."

"What if she's actually stuck in a Labyrinth? Can that even happen? How long can a person last in one of those things?"

"Please, Winter, one question at a time."

"Forgive me."

"To be honest, there is still so much we do not know about the Labyrinth. After all, it seems to be a reality alteration phenomenon. Owing to its nature alone, it's impossible to examine through conventional means."

"Has Hillphire made any progress with that research?"

"Not much, it seems. He has new tech that permits him to perform rudimentary observation of what's on the other side, but without any point of reference, it's all just meaningless data, numbers and figures on a screen."

She sighed heavily, resting her head on her hands. "I need to tell my sister."

"About that."

She looked up at the monitor. "You intend on hiding this from Weiss?"

"Not forever, but I would like to withhold this information until we have a solid lead on her physical, real-world whereabouts."

"How long do you think that will take?"

He didn't answer.

"Damn it." She looked away for a moment. "Okay, Ozpin. You have my cooperation. Any resources you might need, I will avail for you. I will also do everything I can to keep my sister out of the loop, but I can't keep it up forever."

"I know, and I don't intend to keep it from her forever. Just long enough for us to find her daughter."

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I."

"Do you really think she might lose control of her power?"

"The very nature of magic is chaotic, Winter. Believe me, I know this firsthand. Although I trust that Weiss has incredible control over very potent magic as we saw during the exhibition match of the Vytal Festival and throughout these past two decades, I know all too well the dangers of mixing intense emotions with powerful magic. You remember what happened to the Winter and Summer Maidens at the close of the war, don't you?"

"Yes. I don't need reminding of all the gory details."

"I wish that were all we had to worry about. I'm sure you're well aware of the geological changes that occurred as a result of the clash between Caliburn and Durandal. As much as I would like to believe that Weiss would not allow her magic to go out of control, I would rather err on the side of safety than gamble with the planet as a wager."

"Who else knows about this?"

"We've gotten into contact with Hillphire already. Yang and Raven and their group are also involved. No one else needs to know."

"Right. Listen, Headmaster Pine, I hope you don't mind, but before I take on this task, I'm going home for some time."

"I believe that is the wisest decision, Winter."

She saluted before he cut off the connection. She looked at a photo at the corner of her desk. That girl's smile never left her. She wondered if she was smiling even now.

 

* * * * *

 

"I don't understand what it is that you find so fascinating about this city," Ivory said as she and her team strolled through the capital with Leon, their boots crunching the snow beneath them.

"I've just never seen so much gray before," he said, looking up at the towering apartment complexes and business centers. "This apartment looks like a total dump, but I'm guessing it's somewhere around five thousand Lien a month, huh?"

"Double that number and you'd be closer."

"What the actual shit?"

"Look how close it is to everything, though. This is downtown. Aren't downtown residences in Vale just as expensive?"

"The most expensive apartment or condo I know of is five grand a month. Ten Gs is like penthouse living."

"A penthouse around here is closer to thirty thousand a month."

"Those numbers are absolutely insane. Then again, these yuppies could probably afford it. Oh, check it out, a park."

He led the way to a swing set. Yorath and Viktor stood watch not far away while Renata, Ivory, and Leon each took a swing with Ivory in the middle of the trio.

"I don't remember the last time the captain's ever sat on a swing," Yorath said.

"Same," Viktor said. "But I think captain is enjoying herself with him."

"That's what worries me. I don't like him."

"I don't like him either, but captain likes him. I think is best for let captain decide for herself. She can take care of self."

"I suppose you're right. Still."

"Yes, I get. We both want to protect captain."

In the middle of their conversation, Leon noticed that Ivory was the only one not moving. Renata had managed to gain some height on her swing, competing with him, but Ivory remained nearly motionless.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked her.

"What's wrong with what?" Ivory said.

"Don't know how to swing?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I know how to swing! I just don't want to, that's all!"

He chuckled before getting off and walking behind her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!"

"Pushing you."

Each time his hands touched her shoulders, she felt a light shiver build up, but she never allowed it to fully form. She held on to the ropes tightly as he pushed her higher and higher. This made no sense. Only yesterday, she had soared through the skies of Atlas by the power of her glyphs. The height achieved by a playground swing set was absolutely nothing in comparison.

She didn't realize it herself, but the real reason she gripped the ropes tightly wasn't because of the altitude. Her heart was pounding because of something else entirely.

"Okay, that's enough," she said.

"Don't be boring!" Leon said, continuing to push her.

"No! I said I don't want to!"

He watched in awe as she leaped out of her swing, somersaulting a number of times before landing on her feet. He started clapping slowly. She straightened out her uniform before glaring at him.

"You really don't know the meaning of the word 'no' do you?" she said.

"Well, you looked like you were having so much fun," he said with a smirk.

She glared at him.

"Want me to stab him?" Renata said.

"If you don't mind," Ivory said.

"No! Wait! Please!" Leon yelled in a panic as Renata drew her katana and ran after him. "Yaah! Hey! C'mon!"

She vanished from his sight before something tackled him to the ground. She reappeared right on top of him, her sword held to his throat. A huge drop of sweat rolled off of his forehead. She grinned at him menacingly before leaning in closer and kissing him on the neck.

"Whoa," Yorath said.

"I was not expecting this," Viktor said.

In the meantime, Leon shook in both terror and excitement at the same time. At this instant, he could not determine whether he should fear for his life or for his virginity. He gulped as she continued to kiss his neck and shoulder, her tongue and soft lips sending ice and fire throughout his body.

"Okay, Renata," Ivory said. "I think that's enough traumatizing the poor guy for one day."

"Damn," she said, getting up off of him. "I was just starting to have some fun."

Leon stared up at her as she held out a hand for him.

"You just gonna stay down there or what?"

He quickly accepted her help and stood up, standing around awkwardly for a time.

"So," Ivory began, "do you understand what will happen if you keep provoking me?"

Leon nodded as fast as his neck muscles would allow him to.

"Good."

On their way back home, they came across another homeless encampment. It seemed the number of vagrants continued to rise with no end in sight.

"Atlas doesn't do anything about this?" Leon said as they walked by.

"It's not up to the government to force people to work," Ivory said.

"I mean, I get it, but even Vale has some kind of assistance, like unemployment aid and stuff like that to get people back on their feet if they lose their job and home. We have homeless shelters, too."

"Before he was replaced," Yorath began, "General Ironwood had plans to build homeless shelters. But that was ten years ago. General Holland doesn't seem to have any interest in following his example. Besides that, I have a feeling it won't be long before these streets are cleared."

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon. Haven't you read the history books? During what period of a country's history is unemployment the lowest?"

Leon shrugged.

"In times of war," Ivory said.

They had a point, although it left a sour taste in Leon's mouth thinking about war as a solution to homelessness and unemployment.


	7. When I'm with You

CHAPTER VII

_When I'm with You_

 

Echo and Ingrid returned to the team, having scouted out enough of the woods to determine that no threats lay ahead of them.

"All right," Athena said. "This should be a good place to camp for the night. Sun's going down soon."

"Xanthus and I will set up a perimeter," Perseus said, setting out into the thicket.

"Good job so far, everyone," Penny said, setting down her rucksack. "You've been dealing with Grimm attacks perfectly for the last few days."

"How much longer until we get to your village?" Yuan asked Echo.

"We're a little under two days' hike away," she said.

"You seem kinda nervous," Ingrid said.

"I haven't seen them in a while. Do you think I've changed a lot since we started at Beacon?"

"Definitely," Athena said, walking up to her. "Your friends and family won't recognize you."

Echo sighed heavily.

"A year ago, a girl left her village. In two days, a warrior returns."

"Goddamn that was epic as fuck," Perseus said as he and Xanthus finished setting up laser tripwires and alarms.

"It's true, though," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses as he and his partner rejoined the group. "You're not a minor anymore either, according to Vale law."

"That's right, huh?" Ingrid said. "None of us are minors anymore. That's so weird."

"Okay, this is the last of our meat," Athena said, setting up a spit over the fire.

"Do you think we'll need to hunt before heading out?" Perseus said, sitting beside the fire to keep warm.

"Probably."

"I'll get on it," Echo said, heading off into the woods alone.

"Ingrid, if you could."

With a nod, Ingrid followed after Echo. They were the only two in the group stealthy enough not to spook every animal within a mile. The duo's senses were the best out of everyone and they made good use of it. It wasn't long before Ingrid sniffed out a buck and they took cover behind some bushes to spy on it. With zero talking, they coordinated their efforts. Echo sank an Earth Dust arrow into the animal's heart, downing it instantly. The projectile managed to pierce all the way through, embedding itself in the dirt. Ingrid was quickly upon the fallen deer, putting it out of its misery with a stab to the back of the head.

"This one's pretty big," Ingrid said.

"That's what she said."

The cat Faunus turned to Echo, who was grinning as she retrieved her arrow.

"You spend way too much time with your girlfriend," Ingrid sighed, grabbing onto the antlers.

Echo snickered before grabbing the other side and dragging the animal back to camp with her hunting partner.

Before anyone knew it, night had fallen. Perseus would have first watch tonight. Taking a page out of his teammate's book, he perched high up on a branch, giving himself a good view of the camp and its perimeter. Even though they had set up laser trip alarms, they weren't infallible. At least one of them had to stay awake to ensure that nothing got past their first layer of defense.

Perseus pulled out his scroll, looking at a picture they had taken close to the end of the Vytal Festival. How they had packed so many people into a single photograph was still a mystery to him. He looked at the face of the one missing from the group now. She always had a smile for everyone, no matter the hardship she was going through. He only hoped that, wherever she was, she could keep that smile and never let it fade.

"Who am I kidding?" he mumbled.

After all, it was because of him that she was where she was now. It was his idea for her to acquire another target, to save another from their personal hell. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could take back those last moments, wishing that he had ignored all of that crap about the Labyrinth and what the five kingdoms were doing about it. If only he had just stayed out of that business, she would be here with them and their hearts wouldn't be so heavy.

"You ready to switch out?" Xanthus said from below.

Perseus glanced at his partner before hopping down from his branch.

"You look tired."

"Just a bit," Perseus said. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"I could tell. You aren't as talkative as you usually are."

"Yeah, well, I mean, we're not complete anymore."

"Yes, I understand. She truly was the light of our world, wasn't she?"

Perseus nodded, looking away from his partner.

"Go and get some rest. I'll take watch."

He did as his partner told, but tonight would bring no rest for him, though it was no different from any night. What did that other world look like, he wondered.

 

* * * * *

 

"Shouldn't be too far off now," Echo said, leading the group toward a stream. "If we follow this up, we'll get to my village."

"Still about a day away, though, right?" Xanthus said.

"Roughly. But this is all home territory for me." She walked over to a rock, rubbing away some moss that had grown on it, revealing letters carved into the stone.

"'N.E.,'" Perseus read the letters. "Northeast?"

Athena noticed the sullen mood Echo rapidly fell into. "What's wrong?" she said tenderly, taking her by the hand.

"It's nothing," Echo said, wiping away a small tear.

Athena glanced at Perseus, who knew instantly what she wanted to say. He yanked on Xanthus's shirt, leading him away to join Yuan and Ingrid at the stream.

"It's just you and me," Athena said to Echo. "You can talk to me."

"These were our initials," Echo said.

Athena thought for a moment before realizing who the "N" was. "Nerida," she said.

Echo nodded, wiping away another tear. "We never found a body, but we all knew what the Grimm did to people."

Athena held her tightly from behind, giving her a light kiss on the head. She wanted to say something to console her, anything, it didn't matter what, but Athena understood that sometimes silence was better than babbling about nonsense. After all, the embrace she now gave Echo told the latter everything she needed to know, that Athena was here for her and always would be, through thick and thin, no matter what the world had to throw at them. Yes, what she and Nerida once had would be special forever, but Echo had Athena now.

Echo turned to face her partner, reaching up to plant a kiss on her lips. She buried her head in her chest and Athena wrapped her arms around her tightly, gently swaying as she sang a soft melody. Even without any accompaniment, her voice was soothing, like that of an angel.

 

_Hush your cries, close your eyes,_

_Stay with me_

_Let's just dream quietly_

_Of what might be_

_Calm your fear_

_I'll be near_

_To you I'll cling_

_Rest, my friend,_

_Time can mend_

_Many things_

_I don't know the answers_

_Tomorrow's still unknown_

_But I can make this promise_

_You won't be alone_

 

Echo looked up at Athena, singing along softly with her. She didn't care that her voice wasn't anywhere near her partner's level, but she didn't care.

 

_I don't know where we should go_

_Just feeling farther from our goal_

_I don't know what path we will be shown_

_But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home_

_Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at home_

 

Ingrid watched as they sang quietly to each other, their voices harmonizing perfectly, Echo's timid, quiet vocals and Athena's strong, confident singing. Ingrid was helpless to stop the tear from falling, but it wasn't long before someone's finger was there to wipe it away. She looked over at Yuan, who was smiling at her. She, too, smiled as he took her hand in his and pulled her close. She leaned back against him as he wrapped his arms around her.

Meanwhile, Penny kept close watch over her charges, unable to stop the flow of emotions from them. She tried sorting out which was whose, but with all six of them only feet away, that was impossible. But if she were to be honest with herself, she wouldn't trade this for anything. After all, to feel was to be human. Being able to feel what her friends felt brought her closer to them in ways that were otherwise impossible. It didn't matter to her how intense and uncontrollable her Semblance was. It was a price she was willing to pay for such a blessing.

"Let's get moving," Athena said to the group. She glanced over at Penny, who was watching from beside a large tree. "We're on the home stretch, but it's still a day out. Conserve your energy."

 

* * * * *

 

The path to the village was clear of any dangers. In less than twenty-four hours, they had arrived. Echo let out a sigh of relief. The protective walls surrounding the village were roughed up, but still intact. She recognized the signs of fresh repairs. The damage was recent.

"Identify yourselves!" a voice came from the top of a tower.

"Huntsmen-in-training from Beacon Academy," Athena said, stepping forward from the group and holding up the official paperwork Headmaster Pine had sent them off with. "We're here in response to the request sent out by this village."

"Oh, thank the gods," one of the guards said, jogging to them through the gate, which was opened only enough for a single person to pass through at a time. "You couldn't have arrived sooner."

"Is there an attack in progress?"

"Yes, please, this way!"

Echo already had an arrow ready to soar as she followed Athena closely, making their way to the southwest quadrant of the village. She glanced around. The walls might have been intact, but the state of the buildings and the people wandering about made her sick to her stomach.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Athena asked her quietly.

Echo nodded, stifling her emotions, which she was about to lose control over. So many familiar faces blurred by as she and her team ran through the village to assist with the gate defense. She tried to push them to the back of her mind, but failed upon making eye contact with a young boy lying on a makeshift stretcher. In an instant, her bearing was shattered and she broke ranks, dashing to the boy, her young neighbor who couldn't have been more than six years of age.

"Joel!" she yelled, darting to his side.

The boy slowly opened his eyes, smiling as he saw her face. "Echo..." he managed. "You...you came back."

"Of course I came back!" she said as she gave him a tight embrace. "I told you I was going off to train so I could protect our people, didn't I?"

He nodded with a smile before coughing.

"Listen," she said, leaning her forehead against his. "I'm gonna stop those things. They won't hurt us ever again."

"I know you will. You kick some butt, Echo."

She stood up, giving him a solid nod before rejoining her group.

"Sorry about that," she said without looking at Athena, who followed after her.

Team APEX's leader said nothing to her partner. Furious determination dripped from Echo's visage. It looked as if she might snap at any moment, but she held her composure this time around. Her anger and hatred was laser focused, aimed directly at the Grimm, whose growling and howling they could hear even from within these walls.

"Just don't break ranks again," Athena murmured to Echo as they neared the battleground.

"Understood," Echo said, her voice stern and quiet. There was nothing else that could make her snap like that, after all. The only reason she had so briefly lost control of herself was because that was Joel, Nerida's younger brother. He was the only thing she had left of her and she vowed to keep him safe.

"Contact!" Perseus cried as he and Xanthus engaged a pack of Grimm, which had just broken through the gate.

"Team APEX will take care of the breach," Athena said into her headset. "Ingrid, Yuan, stand by for rotation. Perseus, Xanthus, you will take first break when the time comes."

"Copy!" Xanthus replied.

Of the six, Echo fought with animalistic ferocity, tearing her way through hordes and hordes of Grimm, sending arrows flying in every direction as she also smashed heads in with Sentinel in staff form. The upgrades that she had gotten for her weapon made her bow draw weight much greater, but those same upgrades also added studs to the ends of her staff, which aided her greatly in completely destroying her enemies with less effort than before. Add to that the training Ingrid had been putting her through this past week and she managed to rival Athena's Grimm kill count.

"Dude," Perseus said as he and Xanthus switched out with Ingrid and Yuan. "I mean, she might as well just use her bare hands to gut these things."

"This is her village," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "I don't blame her for being enraged."

"Yeah, but look how much control she has. She might be on overdrive right now, but she's not exactly a wild animal, you know?"

"That just goes to show how far we've all come."

"I agree with you there, man."

Ingrid and Echo stood back to back as they looked around at Grimm that were starting to surround them.

"We went too far out," Ingrid mumbled.

Echo bit her lower lip. She was too eager for battle and this was the price she was going to pay. Just when the horde came down upon them, Ingrid activated her Semblance twice, first to detonate six Ice Dust Shadow Clones and then to drop off two identical clones to fight while she and Echo fled in the confusion.

"Sorry for getting you in that mess," Echo said as she and Ingrid rejoined Athena and Yuan.

"Are you two okay?" Yuan asked as he extended his aura to them to help with recovery.

"Yeah," Ingrid said. "We're good."

"Echo, let's rotate out with Perseus and Xanthus," Athena said, to which her partner nodded, following her back into the village.

"APEX!" Perseus yelled as he and his partner held up their swords.

"Hooah!" Athena and Echo cried at the same time.

"Kick some ass, boys," Athena said.

"You hear that, son?" Perseus said, bumping Xanthus's shoulder. "The boss wants to be impressed!"

"Then, let's give her a spectacular sword dance!" Xanthus said before activating his Semblance and projecting a swarm of ice and fire slashes at the Grimm horde.

"Stay within formation," Yuan said to the village guards, who heeded his command.

"We're trained and equipped to handle all of these bastards," Ingrid said. "Make sure you tend to your wounded."

Just as a pack of Beowolves attacked, Yuan used his Semblance's offensive properties, sending out spears of his own aura to shred the monsters to bits.

"Holy crap," Ingrid said, looking over to her companion. "Did you just?"

He nodded. It was a powerful attack, but it wiped his aura down to half. He definitely needed to get better with offense. Perhaps working with Xanthus on aura efficiency would be a good idea. For now, though, he would concentrate on his Semblance's more defensive attributes. He headed into the fray with Ingrid, stabbing and slashing his way through the hordes of Grimm, supplementing melee attacks with ranged lightning strikes from Heaven Scorcher's transformed state.

"When the hell are these guys gonna let up?" Ingrid said as she stood side-by-side with her teammate.

 

* * * * *

 

Athena glanced over at Echo, whose aura and stamina had fully recovered. Her eyes saw nothing else but the battlefield. She was eager for Athena's command to swap out with Yuan and Ingrid, who were next in the rotation. Athena reached out and held her by the hand and Echo finally broke her gaze, turning to look up into Athena's midnight blue eyes instead.

"Take a deep breath," Athena said.

Echo closed her eyes before doing just that, letting it out slowly.

"You ready?"

"Yeah," Echo said.

"Yuan, Ingrid, switch out," Athena said into her lapel microphone.

"Copy!" their voices sounded.

The instant Echo was back on the battlefield, she resumed her merciless massacre of the Grimm, combining every single technique she had learned since starting at Beacon Academy, shooting faraway critical targets with expert aim while smashing through enemies with Sentinel in staff form and stabbing others with her arrows. An Alpha Beowolf she was fighting managed to get past her defenses and slashed her left shoulder, sending blood splattering everywhere.

She let out a scream, one to which Athena responded in a near-instant, driving her spear, Pallas, into the attacking Grimm's throat before decapitating it. She hurled Aegis at incoming Grimm, stunning an entire group before catching her shield. She turned to Echo. Yuan was already with her, extending his aura to reinforce hers.

"Yuan, get her back to camp and help her recover," Ingrid said. "Athena and I will take over here."

Yuan nodded and shouldered Echo back into the village.

"Just like old times," Athena said, bumping fists with Ingrid, glancing back at Echo momentarily before engaging the Grimm alongside her old friend.

"You know," Ingrid said as they cut down Grimm after Grimm. "Even though I grew up with you, I never actually suspected you had a thing for girls, too."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Athena said, stabbing an Ursa in the knee before kicking it in the head and backing away.

"Just trying to break some of the tension. Anyway, you never made any moves on me."

"The hell, Ingrid?"

"Or were you?"

Athena looked at her sardonically.

"So all those times, when we shared beds and drinks and stuff..." She stood in thought. "Oh. _Ohhh_."

"For a Faunus, you're pretty dim."

Ingrid hissed at her.

"Watch out!"

Athena tackled her companion to the ground before both sprang back up and stabbed the attacking Ursa to death.

"Now I have to ask," Ingrid said. "Just now, when you tackled me, did you grab my boob on purpose?"

"Of course I did," Athena said, adjusting Aegis's forearm straps.

"Right. Of course."

 

* * * * *

 

"Better?" Yuan said as Echo's wound healed up.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, scratching the spot on her shoulder that was once a gash.

"How did your aura break like that?"

She shrugged. Obviously she hadn't been paying attention. Did that really need to be said out loud?

"In any case, let's stand by for the time being."

Echo sighed heavily, resting her hands on her knees as she sat on a bench with Yuan. She leaned forward, berating herself mentally for letting her emotions get the better of her. One thing stood out to her as her aura broke. It was the most bizarre feeling ever, but it felt as if the world went completely silent. It wasn't that she had gone deaf all of a sudden, but this was the first time in her life that her aura had been broken and for the first time ever, her Semblance was inactive. She never realized how much she had relied on it until now, constantly in-tune with the threats all around her, even in the middle of Vale.

But now it was as though she were blind and deaf all at once.

"It usually helps me to sit up straight," Yuan said. "Breathe in through your nose, hold it, and then release slowly through your mouth. Make sure to take deep breaths."

She closed her eyes and did as he said. In a few minutes, she was much more serene, mind clear. But the instant she opened her eyes and saw the chaos in her village, her demeanor began to fall apart again. Nevertheless, she repeated the exercise, calming her nerves just enough to keep her hands from shaking.

Just when she had reached a modicum of tranquility, her Semblance went haywire, warning her of impending danger. A pack of Creeps, including a few Alpha variants, burrowed into the middle of the village, sending panicked civilians scattering everywhere. Echo and Yuan responded to the attack swiftly, killing every single Grimm before they could cause even one casualty.

"Is everything all right?" Athena's voice sounded in their headset.

"We managed to repel a burrow attack before suffering any losses," Yuan replied.

"Good work."

 

* * * * *

 

"Ingrid, cover!" Athena said as she ran to a group of village guards and hunters, fending off several Grimm as they fought their way back to the wall. "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah," said a girl her age. She appeared to be the group's leader. "Thanks for saving our lives."

"That's what we're here for. Any injured?"

The girl shook her head. "We almost lost one of our guys out there, but it looks like luck is on our side today."

"More than luck," Perseus said, joining them. "You just got saved by the Golden Girl of Vale."

"Perseus," Athena said.

"Sorry. I know you hate that title. But you know, it can be encouraging to other people."

She hadn't considered that before. The only thing she ever focused on was how it was a mantle forced upon her shoulders before she even knew what happened. Perhaps it was okay to accept that title, if only to inspire others to action.

"If you still have what it takes," Athena began, "keep fighting. But there is no shame in resting for the next battle."

"Thank you," the girl said. "I'm going to make sure my men get the recuperation they need, then I'm coming back out to join you."

"You've still got fight left in you?"

"Plenty."

 

* * * * *

 

"Make sure you keep pressure on the bandage," Echo said to a little girl she and Yuan had just finished patching up.

"Thanks, Echo," she said. "It's good to see you again."

She smiled. "It's good to see you, too, Selina."

"Looks like we have more injured coming in," Yuan said.

Echo turned to a group of village guards returning to camp. She did a double take at the one dashing back out to battle.

"Something the matter?" Yuan said, turning back to face Echo.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just...it's nothing."

"Don't forget the bandages and disinfectant."

"Right."

 

* * * * *

 

"Finally, they're starting to leave us the fuck alone," Perseus said, watching as some of the Grimm retreated into the woods. "Xanthus, you good?"

"I am," his partner said, pushing up his glasses.

"How do you keep those from falling off during combat?"

"Magic," Athena said as she and Ingrid joined them.

"So, what, we're team APIX now?"

"That sounds incredibly wrong," Xanthus said.

"I have to thank all of you for your help," the girl from earlier said, bowing before the group. "I don't think we could have survived today's attack."

"That was a lot of Grimm," Ingrid said.

"Yeah. We've never seen that many before. I think there were more today than all of the other attacks combined."

"It's not surprising," Athena said. "The Grimm are attracted to negativity. I'm sure each subsequent attack sent panic and stuff throughout the village. It's a vicious cycle."

"Yeah. C'mon, let's get back behind the wall."

"Perseus is a strong guy. He can help with rebuilding."

Perseus flexed. The girl wasn't impressed.

"Sorry for our friend," Ingrid said. "He's special."

"Psh," Perseus said. "Your _mom_ is special."

"I mean," Xanthus began, pushing up his glasses, "Blake Belladonna is Queen of Menagerie, so, yes, you are correct."

 

* * * * *

 

"Looks like the fighting has stopped," Yuan said as he and Echo headed toward the gate. "It's quiet out there."

Echo sighed. She wished she was more help to the group, but she had let her emotions get in the way of her combat performance. She was certain Penny had seen all of it and that was sure to be included in her evaluation.

"Okay," Penny said, approaching them. "You guys handled that pretty well. There were a few rough spots here and there, but what battle ever goes perfectly?"

"Thank you, Miss Penny," Yuan said with a bow.

"Echo, your close quarters combat effectiveness has gone through the roof thanks to your training with Ingrid. There are a few things I want to discuss with you in private, but that can wait."

Penny turned to Echo, who had stopped walking with them, her eyes fixated on something at the gate.

"Echo?" Yuan said before exchanging glances with Penny.

Nothing was going to get through to Echo now. Earlier, she thought she had just been hallucinating, but now she knew for sure that it was no ghost she had glimpsed. Her heart stopped beating as she locked eyes with someone she thought she would never see again. In less time than it takes for a bolt of lightning to reach the ground from the heavens, Echo's entire world had been turned on its head.

Standing at the gate alongside her team was none other than her long lost childhood companion, Nerida.


	8. The Bitter Cold

CHAPTER VIII

_The Bitter Cold_

 

Leon awoke to the sound of knocking on his door. He got up to open it, facing Klein in the doorway.

"Good morning, Mister Rose," the family butler greeted him with a smile.

"Leon's fine, man," he said.

"Very well, then, Leon. Would you care for some breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty friggin' hungry."

"Very good. Breakfast shall be served in the auxiliary dining room."

"Sweet. I'll be down in a jiff."

Klein bowed before leaving. Leon went straight to his dresser to throw on some clothes, a pair of black pants and a black and red shirt as always, topping off the look with black boots with red trim and his red cloak. He went to the mirror, making sure his hair was nice and presentable.

"I'm gonna have to get my highlights redone soon," he sighed to himself before grabbing Vermillion Crescent and stowing it behind him.

The halls of the Schnee Manor were devoid of people. Leon couldn't imagine living in such an enormous yet empty house. Perhaps Ivory enjoyed it. She certainly didn't seem to have any problems with it. Her younger cousins were also quite accustomed to the space from what he could tell.

"Leon!" a voice called out from behind him.

He turned around to face Bianca, Ivory's six-year-old cousin. "Hey, B, how's it goin'?"

She ran to him and he knelt to return her hug. She had grown attached to him over the past few days, even to the point of foregoing her glyph training with Ivory to cling to the house's guest. He figured it was because his was the only new face around here. Or perhaps it was his markedly different way of dressing himself, bold colors as opposed to the sterile whites and nearly depressing grays and dull blues of the house.

"Are you gonna have breakfast with us?" Bianca said, her face overflowing with eagerness.

"Of course I am," Leon said with a smile.

She jumped up and down with glee and gave him another hug before composing herself and curtseying.

"Allow me to accompany you to the dining hall!" she said.

"I would be delighted to have you, my lady," Leon said with a bow.

Bianca giggled before taking Leon's hand and walking with him to the auxiliary dining room, where Ivory was just about to take her seat with her uncle Whitley and his other two children, Finn, the eldest, and Gwen, the youngest, who sat alongside the others in her own chair. Leon was amazed at how well-behaved a three-year-old could be. Unlike most toddlers, Gwen needed no high chair. She sat prim and proper, imitating Ivory in everything she did.

"Ah, good morning, Leon," Whitley said. "My niece has told me much about you."

"Good things, I hope," Leon chuckled, sitting down across from Ivory.

"Mostly good. I must ask, though. How does it feel to be welcomed into the home of the one who defeated your sister in the tournament? As I recall, she also defeated your team in the very first round."

"Eh, it was just a tournament. Besides, Ivory kicked major ass. She deserves first place."

Whitley smiled. "I had a slight feeling I'd like you. It's unfortunate I've been too busy with the company to have greeted you on your first day here."

"It's no big deal." He looked around the table for his host's wife.

"You must be wondering where their mother is," Whitley said before thanking Klein for a glass of orange juice. "Sadly, she passed away giving birth to Gwen."

 _Way to make shit super heavy,_ Leon thought. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Uncle Whitley," Ivory began, "would it be okay _not_ to make breakfast depressing?"

He chuckled. "I do apologize. By the way, Ivory, there is someone here to see you today."

"Is there?"

Whitley stood up to greet Winter, who embraced her younger brother tightly before doing the same with Ivory.

"You've been doing well, haven't you?" she asked her daughter.

"Of course I have," Ivory said. "My performance at school is still immaculate—"

"I don't mean your schoolwork. I'm referring to you as a person."

"Well, yes."

"There's quite a bit of confidence missing in your answer."

"I mean, I have to deal with _him_ until he can figure out what he's doing next."

Winter looked over at Leon. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Oh, just on vacation," Leon said with a big smile.

Ivory looked at him. She wanted to ask out loud why he wasn't going to her mother about that bit of news he had about her cousin, but if he was withholding, there must have been a good reason. From the short time they had spent getting to know each other back during the Vytal Festival and these last few days, she didn't see Leon as the type to forget something as important as that.

"Vacation, huh?" Winter said. "What about school?"

"Beacon can wait," Leon said. "Well, no, actually, I'm here on a solo assignment that Headmaster Pine gave me."

"Solo? I was under the impression that he placed enormous value on teamwork."

"He does, but with a few exceptions. From what I know, Qrow used to do a lot of wetwork for him, so I guess he sees me as sort of carrying on the family tradition."

"Well, that's not surprising in the least. You do remind me of Qrow somewhat."

"Do I? Am I as handsome as he was back then?"

She chuckled amid Ivory's coughing.

"Don't drink too fast, big cousin!" Bianca said.

"Hush!" Ivory groaned before coughing more.

"What is the assignment, if you don't mind me asking?" Whitley said.

"I can't exactly talk about it out loud," Leon said.

"Ah. So you're spying on Atlas for Vale, are you?"

"Yup. I'm gonna sell state secrets to my boss."

"That settles it. I do like you."

"Don't like your country all that much?"

"It's not the country that's the problem. It's the people running it."

"Well, I have no opinion on that."

"Good. Don't let anyone hear your opinions on Atlas military rule, especially not with a certain general now in control of the kingdom. You never know who's listening."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Leon spent the rest of breakfast listening and observing the interactions between the Schnee Family. Ivory shared a strong bond with her three cousins, all of whom loved her very much. Finn idolized her the most, striving to become proficient with his glyph Semblance even though he was destined to inherit the company from his father. Bianca was more of a free spirit compared to the three, shunning the ideals of the Schnee family despite maintaining a ladylike demeanor just like her big cousin. Gwen, the youngest at a mere three years of age, already saw herself as a direct rival to Ivory, even going as far as addressing the elder with mild contempt. Of course, Ivory was quick to remind the youngest of where she belonged, and yet the eldest would always maintain a degree of sensitivity so as to not crush the little one's hopes and dreams.

The only one missing who actually lived in the house was the head of the family, Jacques Schnee. No one so much as alluded to him during the meal. As far as Leon could tell, he didn't exist, even though gigantic portraits of him adorned the mansion in great abundance. Leon was itching to ask about him and his role in the company, but he kept his mouth shut for once. After all, from where he sat, it seemed like a sensitive topic. Whitley was officially the president of the Schnee Dust Company, but Jacques Schnee maintained enough of a presence that the board of directors continued to prioritize his word over Whitley's.

"You haven't said a thing all breakfast," Winter said to Leon. "Is something the matter? You wouldn't stop talking during the Vytal Festival."

He hesitated to answer.

"It's about time he showed some class," Ivory said, making brief eye contact with him. "After all, this isn't exactly Beacon's cafeteria."

"Consider me impressed, Leon," Whitley said. "You are welcome in our home any time."

"I appreciate that, Uncle Whitley," Ivory said to him. "It's not every day you welcome my guests."

"It's not every day you bring guests, Ivory. What makes Leon so special?"

Her cheeks warmed up. "He's not. Just so we're clear."

"Other than him being the younger twin brother of Athena Rose, your only rival."

"And that is all."

Whitley and Winter exchanged quick glances, grinning to each other.

"What are you two smirking about?" Ivory said, frowning at them.

"Oh, nothing," Winter said before standing. "I'd like to speak to you about a few things in private, Ivory."

"Let us go to my quarters, then."

"Shall I bring up some coffee, Miss Winter?" Klein asked her.

"I'll have some of this new blend that my daughter has been drinking," Winter said.

"An excellent choice. I'll have it up right away."

"Thank you, Klein."

Leon continued to watch in silence. From what he had heard, the Schnees were the total opposite of what he was now observing. They almost seemed like the perfect family, even though Ivory was missing a dad and Whitley's kids were missing a mother. Both siblings filled in those roles quite well, though.

"Aunt Winter!" Finn said, running up to her before she could leave. "Are you gonna stay longer this time?"

"Unfortunately, I'll have to leave come morning," she said, "but we can share some time before I do."

"Cool! Hey, hey, let's all watch a movie together or something! All of us!"

"Finn, you know your father is a busy man," Ivory said.

"Busy, perhaps," Whitley began, standing up, "but not too busy for family time."

"It's settled, then," Winter said. "Let's watch a movie tonight."

"And then maybe some board games."

"Yay!" Finn and Bianca said at the same time before jumping up and down together.

"Leon's gonna play with us, too, isn't he?" Bianca said.

"If I'm invited, sure," Leon said with a shrug.

"Of course you're invited," Ivory said. "Didn't I tell you? You're my guest."

"Yeah, yeah, you've said that, like, seven times already."

"You know," Whitley began, "while the two ladies are chatting upstairs, I'd like to invite you to my study."

"Cool."

As the children dispersed with their respective tutors and servants, Leon followed Whitley to the second floor, where his office was located. It wasn't as spacious as he'd expected, containing a single television monitor, his computer, two couches, and a few bookcases containing a number of texts, mostly on economics and sociology with a few volumes on history and rhetoric.

"Are you into reading?" Whitley asked, taking a seat before gesturing for Leon to sit as well.

"Not really," Leon said, sitting in an armchair across from Whitley's desk. "I was just being nosy. You don't have any leisure reading."

"On the contrary, I consider all of these leisure."

"A man who takes his business seriously. That's a good example to follow."

He smiled. "So. I'd like to ask you about my niece."

Leon leaned against his armrest. "Most dads have a gun in their hands when they start this conversation."

"But I'm not her dad."

"Good point."

"Anyway, I'm not into violence. In fact, I'm the worst out of all of us with our Semblance. I'm purely a businessman, I'm afraid. I wasn't destined for great things like both my sisters and their daughters."

Leon looked at the desk for a moment.

"Are you actually here on an assignment from Headmaster Pine?"

"Not from him. It's for myself."

"I had a feeling that was the case. Do you mind talking about it?"

He thought about his words. He couldn't mention that his niece was missing. He had enough to worry about. "Call it soul-searching."

"Ah. You've become somewhat disillusioned with Huntsman training?"

"It's not as simple as that. I mean, yeah, that's the right track."

"But there's more."

He nodded.

"If it's private, I won't pry any further. But I do need to ask you about my niece. I do love her very much, just so you know. She's like a daughter to me."

"I've noticed. And you have nothing to worry about. Her team already beat you to the threats and stuff."

Whitley chuckled. "I wasn't going to threaten you. I only wanted to ask you to be careful with her."

"Be careful? With Ivory?"

"Yes. True to her name, she is more fragile than she seems."

"Funny you say that, considering how much ass she kicked during the tournament."

"Yes, she is an incredible warrior, but she is also still very young in more ways than one. Her victory over her cousin _and_ over your sister did something to her. She hasn't been the same since returning from the Vytal Festival. These last two months have been quite the adventure with her."

"Kinda like she's figuring out where she belongs in the world?"

"More like she's suddenly found herself lost, unable to belong anywhere."

Leon looked down to the side. It was true that he had been getting that vibe from her lately, but he thought it was nothing more than a mood, not an overturned worldview.

"Look, I know I don't have to worry about you getting her pregnant or anything."

"Oh my god," Leon said.

Whitley laughed. "I need to point that out, Leon. After all, my sister became pregnant when she was only eighteen."

His sister. He meant Weiss. _Her_ mother.

"Don't worry," Leon said. "I've said it before, she's not my type. And I don't think I'm her type either."

"Nevertheless, you are one of her few friends," Whitley said. "Her team, I understand. After all, she's stuck with them. But she chose you. You're only the second she's let into her life. The first was Demetri Holland, the son of our country's leader."

"Oh, yeah, I remember them getting all cozy during the Vytal Festival."

"Anyway, if you have no questions for me, you're free to roam the mansion. Just don't break anything."

"That's exactly what Ivory told me my first day here."

He chuckled.

"I do have one question."

"Yes?"

He picked up a photo from Whitley's desk, one of him and his late wife. "Gwendolyn. Was that her name?"

"That's right. We named Gwen after her."

"Does she know?"

"She does. A perceptive one, that little girl. But instead of blaming herself for it, she's taken it in a way I could never have imagined. She's made a promise to try and be like her late mother as much as she can."

"Is that why she's so proper?"

"It is."

Leon set the picture frame back down. "Sorry to open up old wounds."

"Not at all. I remember her fondly."

"Well, Mister Schnee, it's been fun, but I'm sure you're a busy guy."

"Please, just call me Whitley."

"I dunno. Could I at least call you Uncle Whitley?"

"Is this some kind of subtle hint that you're taking an interest in my niece?"

Leon reddened. "I'll stick to Whitley, then."

 

* * * * *

 

"What was it you wanted to talk about, mother?" Ivory said.

"I have some news to share with you," Winter said, taking a seat on her bed. "Sit with me."

Ivory did as she asked. "Is something the matter?"

"It's your cousin. She's gone missing."

Ivory's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"According to Headmaster Pine, she disappeared from Beacon at the end of the Vytal Festival. No one knows what exactly happened, but they've already put together a search team. My help is also being requested."

"Does Aunt Weiss know?"

"No, and we're trying to keep everything under wraps for the time being."

"Is it because of her power?"

Winter nodded. "While I have faith in my sister, I also know what it's like to worry about my child. Because the gods know that if anything happened to you, Ivory, I would go to the ends of Remnant to find you, and I'd probably burn everything down if I needed to."

"I see. Is this the reason you're leaving in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any leads on her at all?"

"Not yet, but there's this thing called the Labyrinth, something that was left over from the last war, a phenomenon that creates an alternate reality side-by-side with the real reality based off of the subconscious fears and desires and guilt of human beings. We think that she might be inside one of those."

"Does this Labyrinth have something to do with all of those unexplained missing persons cases?"

"We believe so. And your cousin is likely another victim."

Ivory looked down at the ground. It was no wonder Leon was so worried about her. "Wait, there's a chance she's still unharmed, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"She fought against me using some form of...magic. At least, that's what it has to be. Other than the fact that it was almost identical to our Semblance, it was as though it were her own thing."

"Yes. Rune magic is something she inherited from Weiss." She paused. "And her father."

"Did you say 'father'?"

Winter nodded.

"I mean, I knew she had a dad, everyone does, but why does no one ever talk about him?"

"Because it's too painful. Not just for Weiss, but for all of us. Bedivere was an important person to everyone. His death..." Her voice began to waver. "...It affected us all. But no one more so than Weiss. You weren't there to see her, Ivory. His death would have destroyed her had it not been..."

"For their daughter."

Winter nodded, wiping away a tear.

"I see. I think I understand now why you and Uncle Whitley treat her the way you do and why everyone seems to hate my grandfather."

"What your grandfather did to his own daughter was unforgivable," Winter snapped. "Especially after everything she had gone through, after saving the world and losing the man she loved." She sighed heavily. "But then again, something tells me Weiss preferred to be alone anyway, to raise her child away from all of this negativity, to give her the kind of home that Weiss herself was unable to have."

Winter watched as Ivory looked down at the ground. She expected her daughter at any moment now to ask about her own father, why there were no photographs of him around the house, why there was never so much as a word about him, a mention, or even a name. She figured now was as good a time as any for Ivory to bring up the subject. She never did, though, instead standing up to walk to her desk. Winter couldn't figure out if this was a relief or otherwise.

Ivory picked up a portrait that sat on the corner of the desk. It was of the four of them, both mothers and both daughters, taken during the Vytal Festival, the only photograph they all shared. Her mother stood strong and proud in her Atlas military uniform, yet the smile she wore was pleasant to behold. Weiss also smiled in the photo, more closely matching her elegant demeanor and the summer dress she wore. It was the two cousins who were total opposites. The younger one had refused to even look at the camera, folding her arms across her chest in protest while the elder donned her signature big, bright smile.

"Lilly," Ivory mumbled, letting out a quiet sigh. _If I could take back all of the bad things I've said to you, I would do it in a heartbeat. Where in the world did you go? Are you at least safe? Please, come back home to us. We're all worried sick about you._

She stiffened as her mother wrapped her arms around her from behind, holding her tightly.

"I love you so much, Ivory," Winter said.

Ivory could feel tears landing on her shoulder. This was only the second time she had ever witnessed her mother cry and it was just as contagious now as it had been all those years ago.

"I'm so sorry if I haven't made it clear throughout the years, but I do love you, with all my heart."

"Mom," Ivory said, her voice unsteady. She set the picture frame back on the desk before turning around and returning her mother's embrace as tightly as she could. "Mom!"

Winter held her daughter as closely as she could. The latter cried into her mother's chest, the first time in her life she had ever let tears fall freely like this. No one in the entire world had the privilege of seeing these tears. Today, it would be her mother and no one else.

 

* * * * *

 

Leon leaned forward against the banister, bearing the frigid weather as he stared out into the horizon. The snow had just resumed its fall and he held out a hand to catch a snowflake, watching as it melted in his palm. He had inadvertently passed by Ivory's room in the middle of their conversation and he had picked up on all of it. The moment Ivory began to break down was when he, too, began to cry.

He had decided to vacate the house for the time being, choosing the upper level balcony as his spot to isolate himself from the others. Ivory didn't need to know that he had heard her crying. Neither did he want to burden her with his own emotions. He would deal with them on his own this time. Athena and Ingrid weren't here for him to use as a crutch anymore. And he wasn't about to do the same to Ivory.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the photo of the whole group, eyeing the nucleus of it all. He was certain that if she were here right now, even this snow would be driven away. He believed the stories of Oasis without a doubt. The reason that place was the only temperate zone in all of Solitas had to be because of her. His eyes wandered over to Ivory's face. She wore a scowl as always, but that armor of hers didn't seem so unyielding anymore.

"Leon?"

He pocketed the photograph before turning around to face Ivory.

"What are you doing out here?" she said.

"Oh, you know," he said, stretching. "Just had to get some fresh snow!"

"Don't you mean 'fresh air'?"

"Nope." He reached down and put together a snowball, holding it in his hands.

"Don't you dare, Leon Rose."

He grinned.

"Leon!"

His grin widened as he wound up and hurled the snowball at her, nailing her right in the face. Gasps came from the doorway.

"You didn't," Whitley said as his children clung to his leg in shock and terror. He, too, hid behind his sister.

"Leon," Winter said, folding her arms across her chest. "I hope you're ready for what comes next."

Leon grew increasingly jittery as the snow fell from Ivory's face bit by bit, revealing absolute fury underneath. Snarling, she reached down into the snow to build up her own arsenal before using the power of her glyphs to propel a dozen projectiles at a helpless Leon.

"Ahh!" he yelled as each snowball pelted him all over his body. "Mercy! _Mercy_!"

"Is that surrender I hear?" Ivory said, placing her hands on her hips in triumph.

"Yes! Yes! I surrender!"

"Good. I'm glad you know your place—" Her speech was cut off with a snowball to the back of her head.

Leon gawked as Ivory turned around to face the rest of her family. Whitley and Winter were pointing at each other.

"It was daddy!" Finn yelled. "Daddy threw it!"

"Finn, you traitor!" Whitley said before grabbing the boy and tickling him.

"As far as I'm concerned," Ivory growled as she opened up glyphs all around her, "you are _all_ guilty!"

"Are you sure about this?" Winter said, opening up her own glyphs. "It's five against one, after all."

"Make it five against two," Leon said, standing beside Ivory, who held out a hand for him to low-five.

"Bring it!" Bianca yelled as she threw the first snowball.


	9. Fairy Stories

CHAPTER IX

_Fairy Stories_

 

"Have a safe mission," Ivory said as she saw her mother off.

"I'll be back before you know it," Winter said.

"How long it takes is not important. What matters most is that we do everything we can to find Lilly."

"Yes, I agree with you. Take care of your cousins, okay?"

"Of course."

Winter gave her a tight embrace before they backed away and saluted one another.

"Godspeed, madam," Klein said.

"Thank you, Klein," Winter said. "For everything."

"I am glad to be of service."

"It's more than just service," Ivory said. "You've been a good friend to our family throughout the years."

"Madam," Klein said to Winter. "Please find the young mistress."

"I will do my utmost," Winter said. "But something tells me she's inherited her mother's ability to triumph through any adversity."

Whitley's children just barely made it out to the driveway to wave goodbye to their aunt.

"Don't be gone too long!" Bianca said.

"I'll do my best!" Winter said as Edward, their driver, sped off.

"We didn't even get to practice glyphs," Finn said with a frown.

"We'll just have to get some practice in later, just us two," Ivory said.

"Awesome!"

"All right, now go and wake up Leon."

"Yeah!" Bianca said as she led the way back into the house. She forwent knocking and threw his door open before jumping into bed with him. "Leon! Leon! It's morning time!"

"Wh...what?" he yawned. "What's happening?"

"C'mon! It's only Sunday! Why are you sleeping in?"

"Exactly because it's Sunday," he said before grabbing Bianca and tickling her.

"Stop it! Hey! I can't breathe!"

"That's what you get for jumping on me!"

"Help! Ivory! Help!"

"We won't always be here to save you, you know," Ivory said, crossing her arms as she stood over the bed. "You need to learn how to rely on yourself."

"You're mean!"

"It's okay, sis!" Finn said, jumping into the bed as well. "I'll protect you!"

"Yeah! Let's get him together!"

Ivory allowed the smile to form just for an instant before she suppressed it. She couldn't change how she felt on the inside, though. Watching Leon have a tickle war with her two younger cousins made her warm within. She never had the chance to have this kind of fun when she was a child. She imagined Lilly did, though. That cousin of hers didn't have the full weight of the family legacy dumped on her shoulders.

_Who am I kidding? If anything, her burden is even heavier than mine. How do you even live up to a mom that saved the whole planet?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a pillow flying into her face.

"He did it!" Bianca said, pointing to Leon.

"Nah-uh!" he said. "It was Finn!"

"Hey!" Finn said. "I didn't do anything!"

"You three," Ivory growled. "Are so dead."

She grabbed the pillow from the ground and threw it back, nailing Leon in the head before she jumped into the bed with them and tickled her cousins as well. None of them seemed to notice the youngest, Gwen, standing in the doorway.

"You are all so juvenile," the three-year-old said before leaving.

"Did she just call us 'juvenile'?" Leon laughed.

"You deserve the accusation," Ivory said before getting up and straightening up her outfit. "All right, Finn, it's time for some glyph exercises. Bianca, do you want to join us?"

"Only if Leon comes, too!" Bianca said before jumping on Leon's back.

"Of course I'll go with you," he said, smiling at her.

"Yay!"

 

* * * * *

 

James Ironwood was sitting in his office, contemplating the situation. He took a swig of some liquor before turning to his computer and connecting directly to Oscar Pine. He was one of the few who had instant connection without needing to go through the usual channels. It was a network set up by Ozpin long before he was killed and reincarnated into the farm boy that would ultimately become the leader of the Coalition.

"Ironwood," Oscar said as his face appeared on the screen. "Is something the matter?"

"I've just been replaced as General Holland's chief advisor," he said. "In fact, I've been removed from advising completely, relegated to being a full-time instructor at Atlas Academy."

"So, they're beginning to make their move."

"That has to be the assumption. They don't want anyone who has strong ties to the Coalition knowing too much."

"Kronos has just cut all ties with us as well."

"What? Why?"

"Probably for the same purpose."

"Damn it. We weren't able to prevent a war after all."

"I haven't lost hope just yet."

"Ozpin, you seem somewhat stressed."

"The prospect of war is not something that is easily brushed aside."

"Of course."

"The question I have is whether or not you believe it is possible that the Atlas military will attempt to conscript Weiss Schnee."

"I wouldn't put it past Sergei, but he knows what she's capable of and I don't think he's desperate enough to try and force someone who essentially has the power to incinerate entire continents."

"So the odds are that he won't try anything foolish."

"More foolish than starting a war with Vacuo?"

"Considering what the Silver Maiden and the Knight of Kameloth did to the planet twenty years ago, yes, that would be more foolish."

"What do you have planned, Ozpin? If a war breaks out, no doubt Mistral and Vale will be dragged into it just like a hundred years ago. And with Menagerie's new status as a full-blown kingdom, it may end up being a much larger bloodbath than the Great War."

"You probably won't believe this, Ironwood, but I am honestly at a loss."

"You're right. I don't believe you. The one who has held the strings of the world's stage for decades is suddenly finding himself with no idea what to do?"

Oscar held back on the real reason he was unable to act. Lilly Schnee's disappearance needed to be kept secret from as many people as possible, even his closest associates. Winter was already on the task and that should be enough.

"It's not the same as before," Oscar said. "Twenty years ago we had a clear enemy."

"But now that enemy is locked away in a transdimensional prison that combines magic with the highest levels of technology we've ever been able to muster."

"Yes. A part of me wonders, though, if she truly has been defeated. Or perhaps the tendency toward destruction is a natural aspect of the human spirit."

"You're not losing hope in the human race, are you, Ozpin?"

He didn't answer for some time. "Sometimes I wonder, James. What did he die for? What exactly did he give his life and his entire future for? We can't even keep the peace for longer than two decades. If his sacrifice means that his daughter must suffer through the same bloodshed that he and Weiss did, then what was the point of it all?"

Ironwood was taken aback by the confession. Oscar's face was filled with doubt, something he had never before witnessed in his old friend. He thought it might be because of the integration of Oscar Pine's personality with the collective known as "Ozpin," but his words now were sincere and heavy. This wasn't Oscar Pine speaking. It truly was Ozpin.

"I feel so powerless," Oscar said.

"Ozpin, you need to snap out of it," Ironwood said. "People die in war. That's a fact of life. And that is why we need to prevent another one from breaking out. For _their_ children. We cannot allow their suffering to have been for nothing."

"But what can we do? Nothing is going to stop Sergei and Kronos from going down the road they have paved."

"All I know is that if we give up now, then _we_ will have failed him."

As far as Oscar was concerned, however, he had already failed. Lilly was missing without a trace, likely drawn into a Labyrinth. Perhaps it was fate that she would be tied to that phenomenon, whose existence was possible only through that Wraith that terrorized the entire planet two decades ago.

"There's something you're not telling me, Ozpin," Ironwood said.

"There are always things I don't share with all of you," Oscar said.

"I'm not trying to pry or anything, but I hope you understand that you have friends. We've all known each other long enough that we can all be considered more than mere comrades trying to keep the world from erupting into war. Glynda is still by your side, is she not?"

"She is."

"At least share with her. You need to offload your burdens somewhere."

"And yet _he_ bore the sins of all humankind."

"Something you do not have to do alone."

"Thank you, General Ironwood."

"I'm no longer a general, Ozpin."

"I'm no longer called Ozpin. And as far as I'm concerned, you ought to still be General Ironwood."

"I appreciate that, but Sergei has already implemented a curfew. It won't be long before martial law."

"A curfew?"

"Yes. It's already begun."

 

* * * * *

 

Ivory stood in front of her mirror, staring at herself for some time. It had been almost a straight week since she had changed her hairstyle, mimicking her Aunt Weiss's old look with the bun and tail on the left instead of the right. She had even gone as far as wearing similar dresses, forgoing the old Atlas uniform she would always wear.

"Looks good," Leon said from the door, leaning against the frame. She turned to him. The everyday look on her face was always something Leon could never decipher. If she wasn't outright angry, she wore her poker face. But today showed a tiny crack in her armor. "Your door was open, so yeah."

"Come in," she said, turning back to her reflection.

He hesitated before accepting her invitation, looking around her immaculate room. To the right were her desk and a bookcase, complete with an ornate Dust cabinet. She had few pictures hanging on the wall, one of her team, one of herself and her three younger cousins, one with her and her graduating Primary Combat School class, and one with her mother, her Uncle Whitley, and her Aunt Weiss. The largest portrait on the wall was of herself and her mother, Winter Schnee, both in uniform, hairstyles identical.

But there was one picture that stood out to Leon. It sat on her desk, segregated from the rest of the photographs. It was of herself and her mother on the left, Weiss and Lilly on the right. Leon walked to the photo, picking it up. Both Winter and Weiss had pleasant smiles on their faces, Winter standing strongly in her Atlas uniform, Weiss standing with elegance in a beautiful summer dress. Lilly stood in front of her mother in a similar dress, beaming brightly and with immeasurable energy. Ivory, on the other hand, stood in front of her own mother, dressed in her Atlas school uniform, arms folded across her chest, looking away from the camera in protest.

Leon couldn't help but smile to himself. The two cousins might as well be polar opposites, but there were so many similarities between them. Both had enormous weight on their shoulders. Both had mothers who cared more for them than anyone else. Both were also missing their fathers. And in spite of that void, both girls grew up to be strong young women, surely destined to carry on after their mothers.

In the meantime, Ivory stole glances at him, spying as he looked at the photos and paintings around her room. Absent right now was the carefree flirt she had come to know during the Vytal Festival. In his place was a pensive young man, one who stood with elegance and polish. She never would have expected a country boy to have grown up into such a fine young man.

"Feel free to have a seat on the couch or my desk chair," Ivory said, turning back to the mirror.

He glanced over, looking at her for a while as she brushed her hair. If it weren't for her blue eyes, it would be easy to mistake her for her cousin. He made his way over to her, standing directly behind her, facing her window. She looked at him through her mirror. He stood much taller than her. She estimated maybe an inch shy of six feet. He turned in her direction, their eyes meeting in the mirror. She stopped brushing for a moment before facing him and looking up into his lavenders.

"What's on your mind, princess?" he asked.

She didn't answer for a while, looking elsewhere. She marched over to her door, peeking out in both directions before shutting and locking it behind her. She went back to the mirror, looking herself in the eye.

"I'm nothing like her, am I?" she said.

"Nothing like who?" Leon said. "Your mom?"

She shook her head.

"Oh. I see. I mean, that's not a bad thing, is it?"

She sighed heavily.

"Let's face it. Your life's basically perfect. You live in a huge house surrounded by family and a team that's loyal to a fault. Plus, you're a Vytal Festival Tournament champion and an academy prodigy. Hell, you've pretty much got your future straight."

"Yeah," she said softly. "I guess I do."

He walked around her, standing between her and the mirror. "What's this about?"

She walked away from him, sitting on her bed, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. Leon leaned against the wall beside her mirror.

"You all love her so much," Ivory said, her face devoid of emotion. At least, that's how Leon saw it.

"Huh?"

"All of you. You, your sister, your team, even the faculty love her."

"I mean, yeah. It's impossible not to."

She looked down at the tile floor at her own reflection.

"Ivory?"

"I envy her."

Leon somehow sensed this coming, but actually hearing it from her mouth was still a shock.

"She has everything I don't."

"If you say so."

She looked over at him.

"You think you don't have people who love you?"

She looked back at the ground.

"Your mom and uncle love you. They both treat you well, as far as I've seen. And your cousins love the shit out of you, especially the little one. What's her name again?"

"Gwen."

"Yeah, Gwen. She's so adorable. A little Ice Queen in the making."

Ivory found herself smiling. He was right, of course. Gwen certainly was adorable. More than adorable. Even at only three years of age, she had the maturity to rise up past her mother's death, vowing to emulate her as best she could.

"So," Leon said, glancing at the locked door. "I notice you have no pictures of your grandpa or grandma."

"Jacques does not exist to me," she said sharply.

Leon held his tongue for a moment. "That settles that."

"Anyway, what are you doing all the way over there? I gave you permission to take a seat."

He shrugged. "I figured you'd want your space."

"Of course," she sighed. "Everyone gives me space."

That was an incredibly loaded remark. Leon could sense the hurt, even if none of it showed on her face or the rest of her body. He got up off the wall and went to her, sitting on the bed beside her.

"I said you could sit on my couch or a chair, not my bed," she said, turning to him, but he didn't move.

Something about her crystalline eyes captured him. Lilly's eyes were warm, inviting, brightening up the world around, but Ivory's hid something beneath them. It was like looking into the ocean. What he saw on the surface was not all there was to know.

In spite of her rebuke just now, Ivory did not follow up. It was impossible to deny that having someone close to her like this felt...good. No one was allowed near her heart, not even her own mother. And yet, as Leon Rose sat beside her on her bed, she felt a warmth that she had only ever gotten from Lilly. No, this warmth was a lot different. She had never felt this before.

"Ivory?" he said softly.

"Huh?"

"You're...uh, your cheeks are red."

She turned away from him, putting a hand to her face. Her skin was warm.

 _No,_ she thought. _That's impossible. I'm not capable of such feelings for people, especially not for guys._

"Hey," he said, gently nudging her, but her center was off and she nearly fell from her bed, throwing her arms and legs out to regain her balance. She slowly turned to him, face burning with anger. He fought valiantly to keep it in, but a tiny snicker made its way through.

"I swear I didn't mean to do that!" he said. "I didn't mean to laugh either!"

She stood up, throwing her fists on her hips, glaring down at him. He looked up at her with a stupid looking grin on his face. That was enough to compel her to shove him down onto her bed.

"Hey!" he whined, sitting back up. "I told you I didn't mean it!"

"Well _I_ did," she fumed.

He chuckled, pausing as he recalled her near-spill, bursting into laughter again.

"What's so funny?"

"Muffin!" he said.

"What do muffins have to do with this?"

"Muffin!"

"Again, what do..." When the realization hit her, she closed her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh as she put a hand to her forehead. "Okay. I get it."

"Hey," Leon said, standing up. "Why don't we go out into the city?"

"And do what?"

"You have a mall, don't you?"

"Of course we do."

"Good. Cuz while I was wandering around on my first day here, I didn't see anything. C'mon, let's go shopping."

"For what?"

"What do you mean 'for what'? For stuff!"

"I don't go shopping."

"First time for everything, right?"

She sighed before grabbing a coat and leading the way out. "Edward?" she said into her scroll.

"Yes, Miss Schnee?" he said from the other line.

"I'm going out."

"Shall I bring the car around?"

"Yes."

"Jeez, you walk fast," Leon said, struggling to keep up with her.

"No, you walk slow."

He chuckled. "Are you still mad cuz you almost fell?"

"No!"

He peeked over at her. She closed her eyes to try and ignore that stupid grin again, but even with her eyes shut, she could still see his face. She wouldn't let herself lose her cool, though, and she silently led the way to the foyer and out of the house, where Edward was waiting with the car.

"I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to walk," Leon said.

She looked over at him and he shrugged.

"I mean, we don't _have_ to. Just sayin'. I've never been in this city before and you've had me cooped up for days now and I've been itching to go around."

"There's not much to see," she said. "Especially with all the snow."

"Museums? Amusement parks?"

"We have science and history museums."

"No art museums?"

"No."

"Huh." He recalled the details of the old war a hundred years ago. "I see."

"If you want to see the museums, they're a block that way. The science museum is owned by my family. The history museum is Atlas property."

"I have a better idea. Why don't you tell me what's in both museums while we walk to the mall?"

"The mall is more than an hour's walk from here."

"Sounds like plenty of time to talk, then, huh?"

She looked at him for a bit. The grin was gone, replaced by a more pleasant looking smile. She couldn't deny the mildly warm feeling it gave her, but she would never admit it aloud.

"Edward," she said. "We'll be walking there."

"Very well, then, ma'am," he said. "I'll be right behind you in case you need anything."

"Let's go," Ivory said, leading the way down the long private driveway out to the city.

As Leon had suggested, she talked at length about Atlas's history before moving on to the development of the academy and the origins of the Schnee Dust Company. Most of what she talked about, he already knew, but this was a way to get to know her a bit better. Her summaries were brief and to the point, wasting no time at all, but when it came to her input on some of the events, she went into astonishing detail, taking into consideration all angles of the argument, even those not her own.

"So, that big war a hundred years ago," Leon began, "you don't think Atlas was necessarily in the wrong?"

"Both and neither," she said. "While starting a war was the wrong thing to do, Atlas's concerns are well-founded in science. You are familiar with the 'murder gene', are you not?"

"I can't say I've ever actually done research on the thing, but I know I've heard Xanthus and Yuan talk about that at least once. It's the idea that supposedly some people are more predisposed toward violence than others, right?"

"Yes, and there is belief that the tendency can even be traced genetically."

"But that technology didn't exist a hundred years ago. Heck, it's not even twenty years old yet."

"While that is true, the banning of art is founded upon a similar principle, in addition to the mitigation of the threat of the Grimm. The idea behind suppression of expression is to suppress emotions altogether, which are thought to be the root cause of violence. After all, it's far too common to hear of the jealous husband or wife coming home to find his or her spouse cheating and committing double murder as a result. When you look at the root causes of many wars and smaller conflicts that have occurred in history, an extremely passionate mindset is rather common. So and so has strong beliefs about this and that, while the other side has equally passionate beliefs in the opposite. Tempering those emotions might have allowed the conflict to be avoided in the first place."

"So, you'd be for banning art?"

"Not at all. I'm just saying that the idea behind it makes sense. Just look at current events. Vacuo has strong beliefs in their claims to their territory while Atlas has similarly strong beliefs in their own claims to old land. Have you watched some of President Kronos Jupiter's speeches? His national security rhetoric is incredibly effective, especially considering that Atlas has historically had the most powerful standing army in the world. But General Holland has similarly powerful rhetoric, rallying the people to the misguided belief that we're under attack by the whole world, using the Coalition's judgment as his so-called 'evidence'."

"And the people in both countries respond with powerful emotions."

"Exactly, particularly fear. Vacuo citizens fear an invasion from Atlas. Atlas citizens fear their hegemony being stolen by the rest of the world. This is all made even more complicated by the international relationships, particularly with Menagerie having recently become the Fifth Kingdom, on par with Mistral and Vale in military and economic power."

"But this one's a conflict of resources, unlike the war a century ago."

"Ostensibly, that is correct, but closer examination shows that the rhetoric of fear is powerful. Few things motivate human beings more strongly than fear, the fear of dying, the fear of losing a loved one, the fear of losing security, and so much more. Honestly, it's not surprising that the Grimm are experiencing a resurgence because of all this. What surprises me is that they haven't attacked the capital cities yet."

"Probably biding their time."

"With the presence of the Omega Grimm, that is not out of the question. What worries me personally is what in the world are they waiting for. And with that, we have just arrived at the nearest shopping center."

Leon looked up at the three-story building. It wasn't as tall as some of the condos and apartment complexes they had strolled by on the way here, but it sprawled, taking up four entire city blocks.

"You look impressed," Ivory said.

He turned to her. She was grinning. "Well," he said. "Sorta."

"As awkward as this is, You'll have to be the one to take the lead."

"I'm not even from here!"

"And as I said, I don't go shopping. So, Mister Rose, lead the way."

He rolled his eyes before heading in first, holding the door open for Ivory, surprising both himself and her.

"I had no idea you could actually be a gentleman," Ivory said as she walked through.

"That makes two of us," he said, following after her before taking the lead.

Ivory kept some distance between them as he went ahead, looking through store windows for anything that might interest him. After several minutes of aimless wandering, he finally found a store worthy of walking into. Rather, a store that wouldn't deplete his entire life savings with just a single purchase.

"Huh," he said, browsing through a rack before pulling out a coat. He took his cloak off, draping it on a nearby rod before trying on the new one. "Whaddya think?"

"I don't think it's you," Ivory said.

He checked himself out in a mirror. "Yeah, you're right. Not enough red for me."

"That's not what I was referring to."

"Hey, I think this'll look good on you," he said, pulling out a white coat with dark blue trim.

"So, you're the fashion expert now?"

"I've always been the fashion expert. C'mon."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

He helped remove her old coat and don the new one and they both faced the mirror together.

"See? I told you it looks good," Leon said.

He was right. Most of her blues were light in color, pale blues, powder blues, sky blues, but this dark blue wasn't bad. She made eye contact with him in the mirror. He had a grin on his face. She, too, grinned.

"I disagree," she said, taking off the coat and putting on her old one.

"Aww, don't be like that!" he said.

"I must concede, however, that you do have acceptable taste."

"Oh, is that a compliment?"

"Not at all. I'm just stating a fact."

"Hmm," he said as he eyed himself in the mirror. "Let's go to a salon."

"What for?"

"My highlights are fading. There's hardly any red left."

"Something tells me that you spend more time on your hair than the average girl does."

"And I am goddamn proud of that."

She sighed.

"Hey, why don't you get a haircut while I get my highlights redone?"

"You want me to chop off all my hair?"

"Not _all_ of it, dude! Just..."

She watched as his face twisted into near-laughter. "What do you find so amusing?"

"N-Nothing," he said, struggling to contain himself. "It's just..."

The closer he came to cracking, the more irritated she became. "What are you picturing, Leon?"

He looked at her before pulling out his scroll and snapping a photo.

"E-Excuse me?" she said.

"Hang on a minute," he said, grinning as he did something with his scroll. His grin grew in size. "There. Oh, my god." His grin transformed into chuckling, which escalated into full-blown laughter.

"What in the world is so funny?" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nothing," he chuckled. "I was just...I was picturing you getting all your hair chopped off, like really short, and then I was like what if you got your whole head shaved and..." He burst out laughing again before turning the scroll to her. "Man, I love this new photo editing app!"

Her face rapidly turned sour at the sight of her photo edited to remove all of her hair. "Leon Rose! You will delete that photo immediately!"

"Nope! This is gonna be my new contact pic for you!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

He grinned as he tapped a few icons and she lunged at him, knocking him to the ground as she wrestled him for his scroll unsuccessfully. He ultimately ended up beneath her face down, keeping his scroll out of her reach as he sent the photo to a remote storage and locked it.

"You're horrible," Ivory said, sighing as she helplessly watched him. "Absolutely horrible."

"It looks cute on you," he chuckled. "Shiny head and everything."

"Ugh!"

 

* * * * *

 

Ivory browsed through the salon's inventory while Leon had his highlights redone. She knew that all of these hair products existed. After all, her own home was stocked with more variety than even this store contained. That still didn't stop her from wondering how in the world so many hair products flooded the market. There had to have been a point where at least ten of these things did the exact same thing. After all, the ingredient lists were almost identical half the time.

"Consumerism at its finest," she mumbled.

"Would you like to sample some of our hairspray, Miss Schnee?" an employee asked her.

"No, thank you," Ivory said. Even in the mall, people recognized her, regardless of whether or not they knew specifically which Schnee she was. "I'm waiting for my companion to finish."

"Oh, that cute boy with the red tips is with you, huh?"

She felt her face warm up, but a quick glance in a nearby mirror assured her that it didn't show.

"He is my guest," she said. "A visitor from Vale."

"Ah, an official envoy?"

"Not quite. He's here on vacation."

"I see. Well, please let us know if you need anything at all, ma'am."

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated."

"See something you like?" Leon said from behind her.

"Nothing," Ivory said, turning to face him. The red tips had their brightness back, perfectly complementing his ear-length black hair along with his black and red clothing. "Honestly, wouldn't it be cheaper for you if you did your highlights yourself?"

"And miss the opportunity to mingle with a professional hair stylist?"

She sighed. "Where are we off to now?"

"Going back for that coat you hated."

"What?"

"C'mon!"

She begrudgingly followed after him, watching as he grabbed the coat she had tried on along with another black and red coat for himself. Ignoring her protests, he bought both before removing the tags and wearing his new one under his red cloak.

"That's so much warmer than just my hood!" he said. "Hey, why don't you wear your new coat?"

"That's not my coat," she said sternly.

"Hey, c'mon! I bought it for you!"

"I said I didn't like it."

When he didn't respond, she turned to him. He was grinning as he held the coat up for her to see. She stared at him sardonically, sighing heavily before taking off her coat and handing it to him, putting on the new one.

"We look pretty good," he said, posing in front of a mirror next to her.

She couldn't deny that they did. Her white and dark blue were the perfect complement to his black and dark red.

"High five!" he said, holding up a hand. She turned and walked away from him. "I'd call you a sourpuss, but you're not Ingrid."

They were headed to the car, where Edward was waiting for them, when a military vehicle passed by.

"This is a reminder from the Atlas Military that a new curfew has been implemented," the loudspeaker blared. "The curfew will be strictly enforced. Any who are not in compliance will be subject to fines and detainment."

"Curfew?" Leon said, holding the car door open for Ivory.

"Supposedly in response to the possible confrontation with Vacuo," Edward said. "And the Grimm."

"Leon," Ivory said as he sat beside her in the backseat. "Would you like to join us?"

"For what?"

"My team received a new assignment. We are heading to the eastern border to suppress an outbreak of Grimm tomorrow."

"I mean, is that okay?"

"I will make sure it's okay."

"I'm starting to like you."

She looked at him.

"In a completely platonic, non-sexual way."

"Leon, do you know how to shut up?"

"No, I don't, and it's a really bad habit of mine."

"I'm glad you're aware of this."


	10. Childhood Dreams

CHAPTER X

_Childhood Dreams_

 

Ingrid and Yuan sat with Xanthus and Perseus as they ate lunch. Athena and Echo had spent all day apart from each other and away from the team.

"This really sucks," Perseus said.

"I agree," Xanthus said.

"I mean, it's good that she's alive and all, but damn. Shit."

They all turned to where Echo and Nerida ate with their fellow villagers. They sat so close as to touch with nearly every movement.

"Dude," Perseus said. "I mean, seriously."

"You can't blame Echo either," Yuan said. "Nerida was, for all intents and purposes, her childhood sweetheart. There's something about that that just can't be replaced."

"I know, but dammit."

Xanthus turned to Penny as she sat down beside him.

"Hey, guys," she said with a sigh.

The others figured if anyone here would be brought down by what was going on, it would be Penny, thanks to her empathy Semblance. Most of the lunch was spent in silence with little stirring among the group until Ingrid stood up and threw away her trash, taking a seat with Athena instead.

"Hey," Ingrid said, sitting beside her old friend.

"Oh, what's up, pussycat?" Athena said.

"Clearly you're in high spirits. _And_ you got the lyrics wrong."

Athena chuckled.

"Anyway, how are you doing?"

She shrugged. "How are _you_ doing?"

"You can't just turn the question around on me, dude!"

"I'm team leader. I can do whatever the fuck I want."

Ingrid sighed. "I can't tell if you're just being you or this is your way of coping."

"Coping with what?"

"You know!"

"What? You mean Echo?"

Ingrid nodded.

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing, Ingrid, but Echo's a big girl. She can make her own decisions. She doesn't need me to tell her what to do. And she certainly doesn't need the rest of you guys butting into her business, okay?"

Ingrid was taken aback by her response, but she shouldn't have been surprised. Athena had always been the strongest of their group, unfazed by anything life had to throw at her. At least, that's what it looked like on the surface. Ingrid could never be sure whether she really took everything in stride or if she was falling apart underneath and just never let it show because of the fact that she was always in a leadership position.

"Athena, you don't have to put up a front, you know."

Athena turned to Ingrid, her midnight blues locking with amber eyes. "You think I'm putting up a front?" The cat Faunus nodded. Athena looked up at her ears. "You mind if I play with them?"

Ingrid frowned.

"In a non-gay, totally platonic way."

"What is with you guys and my ears!"

"They're cute!"

"C'mon!"

"Please?"

Ingrid crossed her arms.

"Pretty please, pretty kitty?"

She let out a sigh before leaning toward her old friend, who promptly proceeded to reach up and play with her cat ears, grinning and snickering all the while.

"Okay, that's enough!" Ingrid said, pulling away.

"You're no fun!" Athena whined.

"Hey, be honest, though. You're not worried or anything?"

"About Echo?"

She nodded.

"Look, I told you already. Echo is her own person. She knows how I feel about her. She has to figure out for herself what she feels."

"Still, though. It's gotta sting a little bit seeing your girl with your only romantic rival like that."

Athena sighed before standing up and taking a few steps away. Ingrid got up and joined her, keeping her distance to give her friend space.

"I'd be lying if I said I felt nothing," Athena said. "Because, yeah, I do care about her and I'm scared I might lose her. But I'm not gonna be the one to force her to choose between the girl she grew up with and her combat partner."

Ingrid looked at the ground.

"Do you mind if we drop this? Cuz I'm trying not to dwell on it so much. We have a battle to plan out."

Without a word, Ingrid walked up to her best friend, embracing her tightly.

"Great. You do know this is turning me on, right?"

"My goodness," Ingrid said. "Since when you become such a horndog?"

Athena chuckled. "I'm just messing with you. Seriously, Ingrid. Thanks. I mean it."

 

* * * * *

 

"Ohmygosh I wish you were there to see us on our first day at Beacon we were flying and holy crap it was so awesome I didn't know if I was gonna land it or not cuz they didn't even tell us what we were doing we just launched in the air and then—"

"Echo!" Nerida said. "Do you even punctuate?"

"Crap. My bad."

Nerida couldn't help but laugh. "You know I've missed you, right?"

Echo nodded before leaning her head against her shoulder. "I thought I'd never see you again. I went off to Beacon mostly because I wanted to make sure what happened to you would never happen to anyone else. But, well, you're alive. How are you alive anyway?"

"Luck, mostly. That patrol I went out on, we all should've died. The Grimm were all around us and, well, that was it. We all knew to lead them as far away from the village as we could. The wall wasn't finished yet, so yeah. Not that it seems to even make a difference. Anyway, the last thing I remember was one of those big wolf things—"

"An Alpha Beowolf?"

"Yeah, that piece of turd. Those claws hurt like heck. Anyway, that's what I remember. And the next thing I know, I'm waking up in some hut downriver."

"Wait a minute..."

"Yup. _The_ hut. The one we've all heard stories of since we were kids."

"The Hermit is real?" Echo all but yelled.

Nerida nodded. "And he saved my life. Says I floated all the way down to where he was fishing."

"Wait, he didn't, like, chop you up into tiny pieces and then eat you?"

Nerida shook her head with a chuckle. "He was a pretty normal guy. I actually got to know him a little bit while he nursed me back to health. He's from Vale, one of the outlying towns. A Grimm attack took his whole family, so he decided to move out to the woods. Our woods. And that's that."

"How has he kept away from the Grimm for so long?"

She shrugged. "I mean, he's out in the middle of nowhere, so yeah."

"True. Still, though. He's probably got some pretty good control over his emotions not to attract them all to his hut."

"He does seem pretty peaceful. I gotta admit, it was pretty contagious."

"So, when did you come back to the village?"

"I think it was just before the Vytal Festival that I was strong enough to make the hike back home. Got back right in the middle of a Grimm attack."

"It was because of sis that we survived," Joel said, sitting beside Nerida, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I'm learning how to fight the Grimm, too, so I can help protect our village!"

"High five," Echo said, which the boy accepted.

"But first," Nerida began, "you have to eat right so you can build your muscles. Hey, tell Echo what kind of weapon you wanna build for yourself."

"I wanna make a bow combined with a spear so it's like I have both your weapons together!"

"You better get started early, then," Echo said. "I could teach you how to string your own bow and put together your own arrows, too."

"Cool!"

"Speaking of training," Nerida began, turning to Echo, "let's sit down with your team so we can put together a strategy."

 

* * * * *

 

"So we're only addressing Team APEX, is that it?" Nerida said to the group of Huntsmen from Beacon Academy.

"That is correct," Penny said. "I am here strictly as an evaluator. This is their show to run. Of course, I will intervene should the need arise, but such a scenario would not be favorable for the students."

"Right. If they need your help, their grade suffers."

"Yes."

"Then, we'll plan around the assumption that you aren't even here with us today."

"You said earlier that that was the largest Grimm attack you've ever seen," Athena began.

"That's right," Nerida said. "It was larger than all of the other attacks combined. Much more severe, too. Before, we'd be able to repel the attacks without any casualties. Today, we lost five of our best hunters. Probably would've been the whole village if you guys hadn't arrived when you did."

"The gods haven't forsaken us just yet," Perseus said. "Aside from the wall, do you have any other defenses in place?"

"We did, but they're all gone. The last wave wiped out our traps. And I don't think they even helped."

"Attacks have been increasing in frequency," Xanthus began, pushing up his glasses, "and intensity. I think this is a simple matter for us."

"Simple, you say?"

"Yes. In a situation such as this, our main objective is to search and destroy every single Grimm within the area. It is likely that they have gathered somewhere away from here, possibly even at the command of an Omega Grimm, though that isn't likely given the strategic unimportance of such a faraway village. No offense intended to your people."

"None taken. You got my attention at 'Omega Grimm', though."

"It's a special kind of Grimm that appeared twenty years ago," Yuan said, "during the Labyrinth War. It's an incredibly rare type of Grimm that is capable of complex thought and also possesses a soul, and thus, aura, and the ability to use Dust."

"And this Grimm might be what's causing these attacks?"

"It's possible," Ingrid said. "It's difficult to know the intention of the Omega Grimm. It's not random, but at the same time it's impossible to interrogate them, so we make deductions based on patterns they leave behind. Assuming there's a pattern to begin with."

Nerida put a hand to her chin. "What are the odds that one of these Omega Grimm are actually involved here?"

"Unlikely, as Xanthus has concluded," Athena said. "However, we always plan with the assumption that one might be present. This team alone has dealt with at least two such instances in our careers at Beacon. No other Huntsmen-in-training have even seen an Omega."

"Sounds like you guys are trouble magnets," an older villager said.

"Funny you use the word 'magnet'," Athena said before levitating her shield with her Semblance. "We're going to form a search and destroy team. At first light, Team APEX will go off into the woods and annihilate as many of them as we can find. Ingrid, Yuan, I want the two of you to remain here just in case the village comes under attack while we're gone."

"Think you can handle a huge swarm just the four of you?" Ingrid asked her.

"Who do you think you're talking to, Ingrid?"

"My bad, champ."

They shared a chuckle.

"I'll be joining you," Nerida said.

"While I don't doubt your ability to battle those bastards," Athena said, "I also don't want you putting your life on the line when you've hired us to do a job."

"Echo is going out there as well, isn't she? I'm not letting her go alone."

"I won't be alone, though," Echo said. "I've got my team."

"You've also got your brothers," said her eldest sibling, Aspen, who walked into the hut alongside the middle child, Brook.

"Been a long time, Echo," Brook said to her before giving her a hug. "How's life in the big city?"

"Crowded," Echo said as her brothers took a seat on either side of her. "Not as crowded as this, though."

The brothers chuckled.

"If you all insist on joining us on the hunt," Athena began, "I won't stop you. I will advise strongly against it, but I don't think that's gonna matter, is it?"

"Not a bit," Nerida said.

"A seven-man team is going to be odd," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "Add to that the fact that we don't know your fighting styles and it's going to be a challenge to put together any viable battle tactics."

"I specialize in heavy hits," Aspen said, standing up. He was the larger of the two brothers, easily more than six feet in height and large in build. His weapon was a massive war hammer.

"And I'm handy with a rifle and an axe," Brook said, standing beside his brother. He was just about six feet in height with a build more suited for technical fighting rather than the strength of the elder brother.

"And you won't have to deal with a seven-man team," another man said as he entered. Echo leaped out of her chair and gave him a tight embrace.

"Dad," she said, burying her head into his chest.

"I saw you doing battle against the Grimm," he said. "I must say that I am very much impressed. Beacon Academy has certainly done its part in growing you as a Huntress."

"Are you going to fight with us, too?"

"Of course." He turned to Athena. "My name is Zenith. I am Echo's father. My sons and I will be joining you on your hunt tomorrow."

"You look like a heavy attacker as well," Xanthus said. "But something tells me you are a bit quicker than you let on."

"You have a sharp eye, young man. Yes, between myself and my sons, I am actually the quickest, but I do not sacrifice strength as a result."

"There he goes," Aspen said.

"He always has to remind everyone that he's still our dad," Brook said.

"Well, who else did you learn from, hmm?" Zenith said.

"Yeah, yeah," the brothers said at the same time.

Echo smiled. Watching her family interact again after such a long time warmed her heart, but she could not prepare herself for the arrival of the last member of her family. She walked into the hut, unassuming as always, but majestic in the eyes of Echo, who loved her mother more than words could describe. It was always mom that she could rely on whenever Aspen and Brook went a little too rough on her and whenever dad refused to take her side, insisting on never babying his little girl.

"Indra, my darling," Zenith said as he embraced his wife.

"Echo, sweetie, how have you been?" Indra said to her daughter, who silently walked to her before giving her a tight embrace.

"We're been doing great, actually," Echo said. "Did you guys get to watch the tournament?"

"Unfortunately not," her mother said. "We've been quite busy with the Grimm attacks."

"Echo did great," Athena said with a grin as she joined them. "Wouldn't've made it as far as we did without her."

"We actually have video on our scrolls if you guys wanna watch later," Perseus said.

"That will most definitely do," Zenith said. "We will have to save it for after our task, however. Our focus must be on our job."

"Okay," Athena began, "for now, let's get acquainted. I'm not taking a team out before we know what we're doing out there."

 

* * * * *

 

The exercise was short in duration. Aspen and Brook were already familiar with each other's combat styles; they had been fighting as a duo since childhood. Perseus and Xanthus also stuck together, as expected. The monkey wrench was introduced when Nerida insisted on partnering up with Echo, although Zenith, sensing the tension in his daughter, suggested that Nerida partner with Athena instead while he would pair up with Echo.

"I think my little girl and I could use some father-daughter bonding!" Zenith said, grabbing Echo in a tight, one-armed embrace.

"Dad," Echo's muffled voice sounded through his tunic, "I can't breathe."

"Nonsense, Echo! I can hear you just fine!"

"So, I guess it's you and me, then, new partner," Athena said to Nerida.

"Speaking of partners," Nerida began, "I hear that Beacon Academy teaches with a tenure-long partner system. You're stuck with whoever you pair up with until you graduate, right?"

"That's right."

"And, I'm guessing those two boys on your team are partners."

"Yup."

"And Echo's your partner."

"You got it."

Nerida was quiet for a little bit. "I see."

"She's a great partner, too."

"She is. As am I."

"I'll be the judge of that," Athena said before squaring off with her new comrade. "Two-handed spear, huh?"

"Yup. Longer than yours."

Not even half a second after Nerida had made that comment, Athena hit a button on her spear, which lengthened it to just an inch short of Nerida's spear.

"Is that what separates a Huntress from the rest of us normal folk?"

"Huntress isn't in the equipment," Athena said, returning her spear to its normal length. "It's in the mindset."

The leader of Team APEX began the bout, going for a thrust, which Nerida was quick to parry and counter against. Athena blocked the stab with her shield before countering as well, which Nerida dodged before placing some distance between them.

"Yo," Perseus said quietly to the others. "This is pretty intense."

"I don't think I've ever seen Athena this serious," Ingrid said.

"Are you for real?"

She nodded.

They all glanced at Echo, whose eyes were glued to the fight.

"I wonder who she will choose," Xanthus said.

"That's funny," Perseus said. "It wasn't all that long ago we were thinking the same thing about Ingrid."

As soon as he finished his sentence, Ingrid gave him a hard pinch to the side, making him wince as he struggled to keep from screaming out loud.

"I'm glad you chose me," Yuan said, giving her a small smile, making her instantly redden.

"You guys all suck," Ingrid said, crossing her arms.

The short bout between Athena and Nerida ended in a draw, both holding the points of their spears at each other's faces.

"Not bad for a country gal," Athena said with a grin.

"Did I impress the professional Huntress?" Nerida said with her own grin.

"Girl, you had me impressed from the start."

"Wait, what's going on?" Perseus whispered to his partner. "Is Athena flirting with her?"

Xanthus shrugged, holding in his chuckle.

Meanwhile, Echo watched with an anxious heart as Nerida and Athena shook hands before discussing a battle strategy with each other. She knew that Athena had more than what it took to best Nerida in combat. Her Semblance was the most powerful weapon she had at her disposal, though in general she was good enough to not even need it half the time. That match should have been over from the beginning. Why did Athena allow Nerida to win?

_Why did you let Ivory win the finals?_

Echo recalled the conversation she had had with Athena just after the tournament's end. The answer she had given was because winning wasn't what was important at the time. Of course, Echo had sensed that there was more beneath the surface, but Athena never elaborated, only leaving it at that.

 _Why did you let Nerida win just now?_ Echo thought to herself. _Was it for me? For her? For yourself? Or are you testing me?_

"Echo!" Athena's voice snapped her from her trance. "C'mon! Let's work on battle formations! Your dad doesn't have a partner!"

Echo looked at the team. Athena and Nerida were standing side by side, spears still deployed and resting on the ground. Both women stood tall and strong, though Athena stood maybe two inches taller than Nerida, who was five-foot-eight.

"We don't have all day, you know!" Nerida said. "We've gotta go out and kill some Grimm!"

Smiling, Echo joined her team, standing between both Athena and Nerida. But despite the joy now filling her heart, a sense of dread also loomed over her. Because she knew that the time would come when she would have to choose between these two amazing women.


	11. Razor's Edge

CHAPTER XI

_Razor's Edge_

 

"I gotcha!" Athena said, leaping over an Ursa to stab an Alpha Beowolf in the head before it could get to her partner.

"I owe you one!" Nerida said before thrusting her spear at a pouncing Creep.

"I guess that makes us even!"

"Turtle Shell!" Perseus called out before the entire group gathered together to form a wall of weapons while Echo shot arrow after arrow at incoming Grimm, concentrating on the most powerful and leaving the smaller ones to the team.

"You've got a heck of a swing," Aspen said to Perseus.

"Thanks," he said. "It's cuz I eat my spinach every day."

"Is super strength your Semblance?" Brook asked.

"Yup. Do you guys know yours?"

"Not yet. I guess we shoulda joined up at Beacon with the rest of you, huh?"

"I mean, you do an assload of fighting out here already. It's only a matter of time before you guys figure it out."

"Pairs!" Athena shouted before the whole group broke off into duos.

"You certainly have improved," Zenith said to his daughter as they stood back to back, facing off against a circle of Grimm of all types.

"Thanks, dad," Echo said.

"Your team has helped you a lot, haven't they?"

"Athena's a good leader."

"And a good partner."

She reddened without answering.

"I know, I know, it's none of my business."

"Is that why you butted in and made the two of them pair up?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, my dear," Zenith said before smashing a Beowolf's head in with his fists.

"Sure. Sure you don't."

"Okay, that's it for that wave," Athena said, gathering up her entire team. She glanced over at Penny, who was monitoring them closely, but staying out of the fight nonetheless. "Let's keep moving."

"If we're going further south," Nerida began, "we should head over this way. The Grimm have made a home out of the mountain from which our river originates."

"Oh, a nest, huh?"

"It may even be a spawn site," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "The Grimm are known to spawn in certain locations, most famously the continent northwest of Sanus."

"This is halfway across the planet, though," Perseus said.

"Still. Grimm spawn sites can occur anywhere. It's mostly a matter of luck."

"We should by lottery tickets, then," Nerida said before leading the pack. "Follow me."

 

* * * * *

 

Ingrid climbed up one of the watchtowers, from which Yuan had a full view of the area surrounding the village. It wasn't yet her turn to take watch, but she wanted to spend some time with him while they still had the chance.

"Hey," she said as she reached the landing.

Yuan glanced at her before turning back to the horizon. "Your watch isn't for another half hour," he said.

"I know." She stood behind him, taking a hold of his hand while wrapping her free arm around him from behind.

"Ingrid, I don't think this is the time or place for this."

She sighed. "I just..."

He turned to her. "Is something the matter?"

She shook her head, hesitating in the middle before shrugging and letting out another sigh.

"Ingrid, talk to me."

"Sometimes I hate being a Faunus."

"Hey, what's this all about?"

"Nothing. It's just that we tend to have a sixth sense about stuff and I just feel like things are about to heat up and I don't wanna miss any time with you. That's all."

He reached up to her chin to tilt her head so he could look into her amber eyes. She had genuine concern behind them. It wasn't a mere hunch.

"This is our first real mission," Yuan said. "The rest of the team is probably in the middle of combat. It's not surprising your senses are going wild."

That wasn't it, though. Ingrid's premonitions were as primal as Echo's danger-sensing Semblance. Just as the birds would flee the trees when a cataclysm was approaching, her own hairs would stand on end when something dark came near. And this feeling, this... _thing_ looming over the horizon was darker than anything she had ever felt.

She shivered and he wrapped his arms around her to warm up her body, but she wasn't cold.

"What was that all about?" he said.

"You don't feel it?" she said.

He looked off to the south, the direction their team had gone off to. "To tell the truth, I've been having this heavy feeling in my gut since we got here."

"So, you, too."

He nodded. "At first, I thought it was just me. Everyone else seemed to be in high spirits. I figured I must've eaten something bad. But since you're having bad vibes, too..."

"There's definitely something out there."

"It could be an Omega."

"No. The Omegas never sent chills up and down my back like this. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's..." she trailed off.

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it together," he said.

She looked up into his jade eyes.

"It's something my dad used to say to me and my mom whenever things would look bleak for our village. Maybe a bad harvest, bad weather, too many Grimm attacks. Whatever it was, he would always reassure us. 'We'll get through it together.' That's what he would say."

She smiled at him before resting her head on his chest. She wanted to believe that it would all be okay. If only she could get rid of that pit in her stomach.

 

* * * * *

 

Echo was ahead of the team as always, scouting ahead with her keen senses and hunter's instinct. Her Semblance also worked in her favor, alerting her to any danger coming her way. Today was different, though. Rather than going silent, her Semblance had been active since morning, as though there was constant danger surrounding her even though nothing was nearby.

 _Like background white noise,_ she thought as she leapt to another tree branch. She was maybe a hundred yards from the rest of her team, but they weren't exactly difficult to spot. Perseus was the opposite of stealthy and her brothers never really took up hunting. They were more patrolmen than hunters. Her father was another story. She could not pick up his footsteps despite his immense size.

She smirked as she recalled the previous night. It was the first night she had spent in her own home, surrounded by her mother, father, and brothers. Nerida and Joel were right next door, just the two of them together. Their parents had died years ago. It had been so long that it was almost meaningless to try and remember exactly when it happened.

All they remembered was that the Grimm had taken them.

Echo clenched her fists before calming herself back down. It was all because of those damned Grimm. Had it not been for them, there wouldn't be so much pain and suffering in the world.

_I will get rid of them all._

That's what she enrolled at Beacon Academy for. And with all of the training she'd received and the new upgrades to Sentinel, she could do it. She could make a difference in the world.

Her Semblance went haywire and she turned in the direction of the sensation. The threat wasn't coming for her. It was coming for—

_Athena!_

She leaped off of her branch and dashed as fast as her feet would take her. She was upon the group in seconds. Athena made eye contact with her, noticing the arrow nocked into her bowstring. Team APEX's leader ducked as Echo let her arrow soar straight into the eye of an as-of-yet unidentified Grimm.

"Where the fuck did that come from?" Perseus yelled before drawing his sword and engaging a group of Beowolves with Xanthus and Echo's brothers.

"Shit!" Athena yelled. "Nerida, behind you!"

The village's captain of the guard was quick to move, evading to the side and countering the Alpha Beowolf with a stab right to its neck before following up with a thrust to its heart. She quickly moved to join Athena, who had just downed the thing that had attacked her.

"Thanks for the head's up," she said to the golden-haired warrior of Beacon Academy.

"Of course," Athena said. "I ain't gonna let my only romantic rival get taken out by a fucking Beowolf."

Nerida grinned at her before they engaged a pack of Creep Grimm together.

"My, my," Zenith said just as he downed an Ursa with a single punch to the head.

"Dad, don't," Echo said.

"I haven't even said anything yet!"

"I know what you're gonna say. And you can drop it. Like, now."

He let out a hearty laugh before Echo vaulted over him to smash an incoming Nevermore out of the sky, sending an arrow into it before it even hit the ground.

"Your Semblance sure does come in handy, doesn't it?"

"Dad, please, could you watch your own surroundings?"

"I am! I was just curious as to whether or not _you_ were paying attention!"

"Ugh, you always say that!"

"All right, boys," Perseus said to his quartet, "let's kick some Grimm ass."

"Hell yeah!" Aspen said before leading the charge and smashing his war hammer into an Ursa's face. Brook finished off the monster with his axe.

"How 'bout a race?" Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "Who can take down more Grimm, the partners from Beacon Academy, or the brothers who grew up in the woods?"

"I like that challenge," Brook said.

"I hope you two are good losers!" Perseus said before charging alongside Aspen.

Penny stood guard as Team APEX and their new recruits engaged the Grimm. She remained at the edge of the battle, refraining from getting involved at all, but the very nature of the Grimm made it impossible to stay a mere spectator forever. Something stalked her from the brush. It had been following her for a while now, but she made no big deal of it. She did notice that no one else in the group seemed to know it was there. Had Ingrid been with them, her keen senses would undoubtedly have picked up on it.

"Hey, Echo," Penny said as her pupil just finished beating a small Deathstalker to a pulp with her staff.

"Yes?" Echo said, turning to her.

"Tell me about your Semblance."

"What timing."

"Huh?"

"Actually, I've been feeling funny all day long. It's like I'm surrounded by danger, but there's never anything... _there_!"

Echo sent an arrow flying, barely missing Penny, who did not flinch as the arrow sank into the thing that was stalking her.

 _So you really are there,_ Penny thought before turning to face the new Grimm, the same as the one that had attacked Athena earlier. Like that previous one, this was also able to bypass the group's trained senses.

"What in the world _is_ that thing?" Nerida said.

"That's the same as the fucker that nearly got me," Athena said. "Can that thing go invisible?"

"Has it been following us all this time?" Perseus said.

"I think 'Specter' is an appropriate name for this new Grimm," Xanthus said, "assuming no one has given it a name yet."

"Specter it is," Penny said, squaring off with it.

"She's incredibly calm," Nerida said quietly. "Are all professional Huntresses this composed in the face of a Grimm no one's ever seen before?"

Xanthus gave her a glance. For sure Penny had detected that thing in spite of its clear stealth advantages.

"They're easy enough to kill, though," Athena said. "Echo's arrow took that other one down with one shot."

They all watched as the new Grimm pulled out the arrow that Echo had sent into its shoulder. It stood on two legs, not unlike the Beowolves, but its body seemed to be designed with stealth in mind, its feet covered in soft padding to mask its footsteps and its reptilian skin capable of camouflage. The whole group awaited the Specter Grimm's next move, but instead, it slunk away into the woods.

"'Kay, yeah, that's fucked up," Perseus said. "We should probably get the hell out of here, like, _now_."

"We're surrounded!" Echo yelled, her Semblance on fire. Nothing emerged from the brush, but there was something out there. Lots of somethings.

"Can anybody see them?" Aspen said.

"There!" Brook said, firing his rifle and missing. "Dammit, these things can move."

Athena's head was on a swivel. With Echo's guard up as high as it was, she knew that there was no way they could relax.

"Nerida," she whispered. "How well do you know these woods?"

"I grew up in them," Nerida replied quietly.

"Where's the nearest clearing?"

Nerida understood exactly what her companion was getting at. "To the east of here. The river isn't far off and from the embankment to the tree line is a pretty wide area of flat ground."

Athena went around the team, quietly relaying the plan to the others. "On my mark, we make a break for it."

"Roger that," Perseus said.

"No one left behind," Xanthus said. "That includes our instructor."

Penny smiled at them. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I-I'm not worried. I'm just saying."

Perseus bumped his shoulder and he looked at him, the big grin on his partner's face getting under his skin.

"Go!" Athena yelled, to which the entire group of nine broke into a dash to the west, aiming for the riverbank, where the Specter Grimm would have less concealment to work with.

"They're attacking!" Perseus yelled as he blocked a projectile with his shield. "Is that gunfire?"

"Grimm that can use guns?" Aspen said.

"This is officially some fucked up shit," Brook said, firing back with his rifle.

"Keep going!"

Athena threw her spear at one of the Specters before recalling it with her Semblance. Spotting another Specter aiming a rifle at her companion, she tossed Aegis, using her Semblance to suspend it in front of Nerida, successfully blocking the gunshots while Nerida returned fire with a pistol she had concealed in her cloak.

Meanwhile, Echo's Semblance was going crazier than it had ever gone. She sensed threats coming from every direction. The greatest pull was from both Nerida and Athena, both of whom were engaged in intense combat, defending and counterattacking whenever possible. For once, Echo had no idea which way to shoot. It was as though these Grimm were specifically engineered to counter her Semblance, arguably the most useful among her entire group.

Just as they came upon the riverbank, Echo fell to the ground screaming, a sharp pain drilling into her head.

"Echo!" Athena cried out before darting to her side in an instant. "Echo, what's wrong?"

"My head!" she screamed. "My head's gonna explode!"

"I got you! Just hang on to me!"

Xanthus picked up Echo's weapon and a few fallen arrows before following after them to the river.

"Echo, what's happening?" Nerida said.

"Eyes to the trees!" Zenith said, pulling out a shotgun. "Do not let your guard down!"

"Yes, sir!" his sons replied.

"Echo!" Nerida continued to yell as she and Athena supported their teammate.

"On me!" Perseus said, taking the lead to defend against the new onslaught of Grimm, none of which included the Specter Grimm. "Xanthus, stay close to the girls! Aspen, Brook, to my flanks! Mister Zenith, cover my rear!"

"You got it, son!" Zenith yelled before smashing his fists together. "You hear that, boys? That's a man you can follow into the depths of hell itself before slaughtering everything there!"

While Perseus and his squad took care of the Grimm breaking through the tree line into the riverbank, Echo continued to wail as the pain became harder and harder to endure.

"What's wrong with her?" Xanthus said, glancing over before returning his attention to the battlefield.

"I don't know," Nerida said, panic beginning to take over her. "Echo, can you hear us?"

"Yeah," Echo groaned as she curled up in Athena's arms. "But...it just hurts...so much!"

In a flash, her surroundings went black, the forest transforming into a perfect void. Her breathing was the only thing she could perceive. Nothing else was here. And then, slowly, little by little, a presence began to emerge, one that she had not felt in far too long.

She stood up to face the apparition, which grew more and more concrete as the void faded into what looked to Echo like an apocalyptic wasteland, complete with red skies and harsh winds. Far away from her stood the presence. It faced the other direction, but Echo knew just who this was she was sensing now. Her Semblance pointed to infinite danger surrounding the figure and she got up to try and run to her, but her legs were heavier than lead and she stumbled before falling face first into the blood-soaked sand. She looked up to face the first friend she had ever made at Beacon Academy, screaming as countless monsters descended upon her to tear away at her flesh.

"Lilly!" Echo screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Whoa!" Athena said, holding on to her tightly to keep her from thrashing about. "Echo! What's going on?"

Echo looked around. She was back with her team, in the woods, with sunlight overhead. Lilly was nowhere to be seen.

"Echo, are you okay?" Nerida asked.

She looked at her childhood friend before allowing herself to collapse into both her and Athena, who sat side-by-side with each other.

"Nerida, can I trust in you to keep her safe?" Athena said.

Nerida looked into her midnight blue eyes.

"I'm gonna go help my team."

She nodded. "Yeah. I'll look after her."

"Thanks."

Nerida watched as Athena stood up, proud and tall, spear and shield in either hand. She looked back down at Echo, whose eyes were closed as she breathed hard, trying to recover from whatever it was she had just experienced. Nerida didn't think she could feel even more helpless than she was on that day she should have died. Facing the Grimm was one thing, but being unable to do anything for the one she loved most was beyond what she could handle. She wanted more than anything for Echo to be okay, but it was clear she was not and there was nothing she could do for her.

And yet, despite this fact, one of them was going out there to get something done. Athena was now participating in the slaughter of the Grimm. She glanced over at Xanthus, who stood firmly on guard.

"Is she okay?" he asked without looking.

"She's better, I think," Nerida said.

"Good. Can I trust in you to look after her?"

Yet another one of Team APEX's members was going to join the battle.

"I'm going to help the rest of my team. Will you two be fine here?"

"I'm coming, too," Echo said weakly.

"Huh?" Nerida said as her childhood friend fought her way back to her feet. "Wait, Echo!"

"I'm not that easy to take down," she said. "Xanthus, let's go. Athena and Perseus need us. And my brothers aren't exactly the quickest of the bunch."

Xanthus nodded at her before turning to Nerida. "Join us when you're ready."

Nerida watched as Echo ran alongside her teammate to the fray. She had changed so much since they last saw each other. She never imagined a whole year could change a person down to her very foundations. She wasn't the shy, borderline-pessimistic girl she once knew. The Echo Atalante before her now was no longer a girl. She was a warrior.

 

* * * * *

 

"I'm going out there," Ingrid said.

Yuan turned to her.

"I don't know about you, but I can't just sit here."

"What about the village?" he said.

"They have what it takes to take care of themselves. Besides, we have a perimeter set up, don't we? If any Grimm breach the laser fence, we'll get a notification on our scrolls and we can head back and help."

"Still, I don't like the thought of leaving our post."

"I don't like the thought of leaving our friends out there to fend for themselves."

"You and I both know they can take care of things."

"Exactly. I don't wanna miss out on the fun."

He chuckled. "Well, if that's all you were concerned about, why didn't you say something?"

She grinned. "So, you were getting bored, too, huh?"

"Nope. I just want you to be honest with yourself."

"Well, to be frank, I just can't shake that bad feeling."

"If there's something I've learned from our time together, Ingrid, it's that I should trust your instincts more than anyone else's."

She looked up at him, returning his smile.

"Lead the way. I'll be right behind you."

 

* * * * *

 

"That was the last one!" Perseus yelled as he stabbed his sword into a Specter Grimm that had tried to ambush him. Unfortunately for that Grimm, he had activated his super strength Semblance and beat it to a pulp.

Athena surveyed the immediate area. All around them were countless Grimm dissipating into nothingness. Very few of them were Specter Grimm. Either there weren't many to begin with or there were still some hiding out in the woods.

"Echo, are your senses tingling?" she said.

"Not like before," she said. "But that low hum in the background is still there."

"Won't turn off, huh?"

"It's like white noise or something. I feel like danger is somewhere close by, but it's not immediate danger. Also, it's more of a really bad gut feeling instead of the usual danger sensation."

"Has your Semblance changed over the year?" Nerida asked her.

Echo shook her head. "It's still the same. I've honed it a little, though."

"What do you mean?"

"It used to be that while I'm in the middle of a fight, it would be on full blast all the time. I've learned to differentiate between different intensities, like during a fight it would be high alert, but it would peak when danger was coming right at me. But there's something else, too. When specific people are threatened, I feel that. I think it might depend on how close the person is to me, too."

"I always thought that the closer the threat is to you, the stronger the sensation gets."

"That's still the case, but when it has to do with someone else, I don't think there's a range limitation at all. Remember how I would only be able to pick up on stuff that's no more than, like, twenty or thirty yards away?"

Nerida nodded.

"Well, you guys were a good hundred yards away from me, but when you guys were under attack, I could feel it all the way from out there."

"So, your Semblance also points to specific people now, too?"

Echo nodded. She couldn't say it aloud, though, but there were two people in particular who gave off the strongest sensations, Athena and Nerida. The others activated her Semblance as well, what with half the crew being in her family, but none were as intense as threats to her team leader and her childhood companion.

Of course, neither Nerida nor Athena were blind to this fact.

"Should we head back to the village?" Perseus asked. "We've probably fought through a few hundred of them by now and we're low on supplies. And I think we could use a rest."

"Rest is for mortals," Aspen panted, joining the group with his brother.

"Says the guy breathing out of his ass," Brook said.

"You both did very well, my sons," Zenith said, squeezing both with either of his massive arms.

"Ow," the brothers said at the same time.

Echo couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. She figured this was why her brothers never took it easy on her. Dad never babied them either, that was for sure.

"Yo, mom said she had a good supper ready for us," Aspen said. "I think it's a good idea to head back."

"I like the way you think," Perseus said. "I'm lookin' forward to your mom's cooking."

"No one beats her cooking," Brook said. "Especially not dad."

"I can cook just fine, mind you!" Zenith said.

Their rest was cut short when something shot out at them from the trees. Echo's Semblance instantly skyrocketed, but it was Athena who responded to the threat first, throwing Aegis out to deflect the Fire Dust attack and keeping its explosion a comfortable distance from the group.

"Shit, an Omega," Perseus said, bringing up his shield.

"Are the Omega Grimm really that bad?" Nerida said, taking up combat position next to him.

"They're the worst of the worst. Our instructor is the only one I've ever seen go toe-to-toe with one of them and win."

"Penny," Athena said, stepping forward as her shield came back to her. "I'll handle this one."

"Are you sure?" Penny said.

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, do I get extra credit for killing one of these assholes?"

Penny let out a snicker, but her mood went right back to where it was before. "Don't get careless."

"I won't."

The others watched as an Omega Grimm emerged from the trees across the river, engaging Athena in a duel to the death. The Grimm also used a spear and shield, mimicking Athena's armaments, but it wouldn't be enough. Even Penny was surprised at how much better Athena had gotten since the first time she had faced one of these things a year ago. She had almost been killed that time, but Athena's form and strength were much greater than before.

"Do you get the feeling she's been pacing herself all day?" Perseus mumbled to Xanthus.

"You mean holding back?" Xanthus said.

"That, too."

"She's _fast_ ," Aspen said.

"I guess that's why they call her the Golden Girl of Vale," Brook said.

Nerida turned to Echo, who was watching the fight closely. It wasn't lost on her that Athena was incredibly important to her childhood sweetheart. The helplessness she had felt earlier when Echo was in pain was a mere shadow compared to the feeling in her heart right this moment.

Because nothing was more painful than the thought of losing the one she loved.

"Athena, watch out!" Perseus yelled.

Penny prepared to launch herself at the second Omega Grimm, but stopped upon noticing something flying out of the woods and engaging it mid-flight.

"Ingrid?" Xanthus said.

"I've got your back!" Ingrid yelled to Athena.

"And they say cats aren't loyal!" Athena said.

"Ugh! Don't make me regret saving your ass!"

"So, this is what it means to be trained at a Huntsman Academy," Zenith said.

"You thinkin' 'bout joinin', old timer?" Perseus said to him with a grin.

"Sure. Do you take students my age?"

"Hell, Headmaster Pine might even make an exception and make you an instructor. After a bit of training, of course. I think you have a lot of experience you could add."

"Heh. I appreciate the vote of confidence, my young friend, but the truth is that my place is out here, protecting my home alongside my fellow villagers."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that."

"Still. Those two young ladies are incredible warriors."

"We still have to show you guys the tournament fight. _That_ was incredible."

Athena and Ingrid managed to get the upper hand on both their opponents and they knocked them into the water.

"Yuan, now!" Ingrid yelled as she and Athena made a break for it.

Yuan held Heaven Scorcher upward, activating its lightning rod function. Athena grabbed Ingrid before using Aegis as a springboard, keeping it in place with her Semblance, barely getting out of the water as Yuan zapped the entire river, electrocuting both Omegas.

"Echo!" Athena called out, but the archer was already on it, aiming two Explosive Dust arrows at their enemies and letting them soar at the same time. Her projectiles obliterated the Omegas' auras and Xanthus went straight to work, dumping as much of his aura as he could into his Semblance before holding up the Sword of Chaos, which glowed red along with his left eye.

"Now!" Perseus yelled.

" _Flames of Chaos_!" Xanthus yelled before swinging his sword and unleashing a massive wave of fire, which incinerated the two Omegas, leaving nothing behind but ash.

"Holy fuck! Awesome ass name for an awesome ass attack! That was _orgasmic_!"

"Ugh," Ingrid said, rolling her eyes.

"Now we have to wait a whole minute until his aura is restored," Athena said before being shocked by Xanthus's aura returning at once. "What the fuck? When did you?"

"I have Penny to thank for it," he said, pushing up his glasses. "I've gotten much faster at restoring my aura from its broken state."

"That was less than thirty seconds."

"Yes. Unfortunately, the overall recovery rate is still the slowest out of all of us. Yuan's aura recovery cannot be beaten."

Yuan gave him a silent nod.

"Okay, this makes no sense," Ingrid said, catching everyone's attention. "I thought maybe it was those Omegas that kept putting me on edge, but it's not them."

"Yeah," Echo said. "There's something else out there."

"What the hell else could it be?" Perseus said.

Something stumbled out onto the riverbank from the trees. It was an Omega.

"There's more!" Nerida yelled.

"Wait," Athena said. "Something's wrong."

"She's right," Zenith said. "This one's injured."

"Oh, yo," Aspen said. "What the fuck? It's missing an arm!"

"Do you guys hear that?" Ingrid said.

The group quieted down, watching as the Omega fell to the ground, scampering away from some unseen thing, a thing that sounded like it was chuckling as it pursued the fallen Grimm.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," a voice sounded from within the woods. "There's no use hiding. I _will_ find you."

The entire group, including Penny, watched in shock as something emerged from the woods. Every one of them could sense that this thing was no ordinary human being, but the fact that it looked so much like a normal man sent chills up and down their backs.

"This is it," Ingrid said. "That's the thing that's been giving me the creeps all day long."

"Me, too," Echo said, gripping her staff tightly. "My Semblance is pointing directly to him."

"Yum, yum, _yum_!" the man yelled before descending upon the Omega Grimm, which tried to crawl away as the man chomped through its flesh and insides, eating right through its aura.

"That thing just...ate the Omega Grimm's aura?" Brook said.

"Stay behind me," Penny said, standing between the group and the thing in front of them.

"Penny?" Xanthus said.

"Don't worry. This thing isn't something we expected to encounter out here. Your grade won't be affected."

"That's not the point. Whatever it is, I think it is best for us to work as a team."

"I'm glad you've come to that conclusion, Xanthus. However, you're all at your limits for today. Only Yuan and Ingrid have enough strength to fight because they just got to the battlefield, and I want to conserve that strength as much as possible since we have no idea what we're even looking at right now."

"Ahh," the man said, standing up as the Omega Grimm dissipated. "The regular Grimm are so dissatisfying. But still, it's plenty of nutrients to sustain this new body. Omegas, on the other hand, have such amazing nutritional value!"

He turned to the group, making them all gasp as they took up fighting positions.

"What luck! An Omega for the main course and real, live humans for dessert! Azazel said I could snack on anyone I could find, but your souls seem to burn much stronger than other normal humans!"

"What the hell are you?" Athena demanded.

"Me? I'm hungry!"

"Huh?" Nerida said.

"I hunger! For your flesh! And your _souls_!"

"Whoa!" Perseus yelled as the man dashed at them with incredible speed.

Echo immediately sent an Explosive Dust arrow flying and the blast sent dirt and debris flying in every direction. When the cloud settled, the whole group was shocked to see that the creature was still standing despite its torso having been mangled by the explosion.

"That's..." Aspen began.

"Disgusting," Brook finished.

"That hurt," the man said as his flesh began to pull back together. "You shouldn't play with dangerous things. You could get injured."

"This isn't good," Athena said. "That didn't do shit to it."

"Tell us your name," Penny demanded.

"My name?" the man said. "Hmm. Azazel didn't give me a name. Beings such as myself don't have names. After all, we are simply what we are. No more, no less."

"And what are you? What did this Azazel call you?"

The man stood in thought for some time. "Ah, I know. You can call me the same thing that human legends always referred to me as. Call me..." he began as he prepared to dash in their direction, "The Great Devourer!"


	12. Masquerade

CHAPTER XII

_Masquerade_

 

Ivory stared out her bedroom window as the snow began to fall. It was that time of the year again, when the flowers would stop blooming and the sun would no longer shine down on them. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before leaving her room and going straight to the second floor deck in nothing but her nightgown and slippers. She stepped out onto the balcony, clutching herself as the frigid air blew her clothing and hair to the side. Ignoring the cold, she walked all the way out to the banister, leaning against the icy marble to watch the city dress itself in pure white snow.

 _Pure,_ she thought, _just like you, Lilly._

She closed her eyes, envisioning her elder cousin's bright smile, causing one to form on her own face. A tiny snowflake landed on her nose and she opened her eyes, picking the ice from her face and watching as it melted on her finger.

"You're gonna turn into a snowman if you stay out here," Leon's voice sounded from her left. "Or, snowperson? I guess?"

"The cold hardly ever bothers me," she said.

"I guess you could just...let it go?"

She looked at him wryly.

"C'mon, it's a good movie!"

"That doesn't make you any less annoying."

"Oh, right, here ya go."

She accepted the mug from the tray he was holding.

"It's funny," he said, taking a sip from his own mug and leaning against the banister beside her. "This is exactly how Lilly used to have her coffee. I'm pretty sure it's the exact same blend, too."

"It is," she said. "Beans grown on Patch and Menagerie, ground together very finely in a two-to-three ratio, respectively, and brewed with water that has only just reached boiling point and filtered through very fine, unbleached paper."

"That's really fucking specific."

"Brewing coffee can reach an art form if you become interested in the finer blends available."

"Yeah, I can see that. I've never been a coffee drinker myself."

"Why do you subject yourself to this, then?"

He shrugged. "I guess I can appreciate the taste. It's ultra bitter when it first hits, but if you can sit through it, there's a sort of sweetness, like flowers, that comes up."

"You can taste it, too, hmm?"

"Yeah. Just barely. I doubt my palate is as sensitive as yours. I mean, you're all high-born and shit and I'm just a village-born idiot."

"You're no idiot."

He turned to her, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were fixed to her mug, which she held with both hands to warm up her fingers.

"Wanna head back inside?" he asked her. "It's kinda snow."

She didn't answer, continuing to stare at her coffee. Ever since she had gotten the news that Lilly had gone missing, she found it impossible to get rid of the regret constantly clawing at her heart. If she could go back to the past and do things differently, she would do so in the blink of an eye.

She gasped as something draped itself over her shoulders. She looked up at Leon, who had taken off his red cloak and wrapped it around her.

"Wh-What are you doing?" she said.

"I won't be blamed for you getting hypothermia," he said before drinking. "Besides, I'm already wearing a coat, too. Your Uncle Whitley would kick my ass if he saw me standing next to you without even offering _something_."

She chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Just the thought of my uncle 'kicking your ass'."

He chuckled with her. "He did say he wasn't into violence. Speaking of that, your grandpa sucks."

"Did you meet him?"

"He bumped into my shoulder and didn't even look at me. What a dick."

"Yes. He is a dick."

"Has he always been like that?"

"Honestly, I have very few interactions with him. It seems every time he's in the house, the only thing he's capable of is belittling my mother and bossing my uncle around."

"I see." He paused for a moment. "I've actually been meaning to ask, and it's okay if you don't answer cuz it's none of my business and all that, but I noticed that no one ever talks about your grandpa. There's pictures of him all over the damn house, but you guys don't even so much as acknowledge him. Like, at all."

"It's because of what he did to my Aunt Weiss."

"What exactly did he do?"

"You must have noticed by now that she does not live in this house with us."

"Yeah, that's been kinda obvious from the start. Did she move out or something?"

Ivory shook her head. "Aunt Weiss was disowned by my grandfather."

The revelation struck Leon harder than he thought it would. "Wait, what?"

"Jacques Schnee kicked her out of the family. Simple as that."

"But...what the fuck?"

"Those were my exact words when I found out what had happened. I mean, Weiss Schnee was the hero of the Labyrinth War, almost losing her own life and losing the man she loved to the war, and after it was all said and done, after she sealed away Salem and drove away the darkness, my grandfather, instead of welcoming his hero of a daughter back to the family home, told her that he never wanted to see her face ever again."

Leon looked down at the snow. Shock could not even begin to describe what he was experiencing now. "That makes absolutely no fucking sense."

"My mother and uncle tried to get him to change his mind, saying that they should give her the welcome that a war hero deserved, but he refused to even listen to what they had to say, giving no explanation of his own. My guess is that he felt humiliated by her."

"Humiliated?"

"Aunt Weiss returned home after Beacon Academy fell during the early stages of the war. After a falling out with her father, he disinherited her, passing on the company to her younger brother, my Uncle Whitley, instead. At first, Uncle Whitley was thrilled to take the company away from his big sister, who went off to fight in the war. But as the war continued on, he was slowly overcome with regret. Originally, he had planned to return the inheritance to my Aunt Weiss, but then my grandfather straight up said she's not even welcome in the house anymore. So, without even saying a word, Aunt Weiss left. She hasn't set foot in the city since that day."

"But..."

"You're probably wondering how she got aboard the shuttle that took her to Vale, right? For the Vytal Festival?"

"Yeah. What did she do? Fly up and meet the shuttle in the sky?"

"Yup. That's what she did."

Leon's eyes widened. "No fucking way."

"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Glyph after glyph, she rocketed into the sky before boarding through the forward port access door. Apparently, my mom was pretty used to the sight since it didn't bother her one bit."

"Holy shit."

"Yes. That is my Aunt Weiss, the hero of the Labyrinth War, who calmly accepted the fate her disgusting wretch of a father forced upon her even though she could have easily crucified him. Figuratively _and_ literally."

"Why, though?"

"Who knows? My mom and Uncle Whitley figure it has to do with wanting to raise Lilly on her own, but—"

"No. I mean, your grandpa. Why the fuck is he such a gigantic donkey penis?"

She chuckled. "Honestly? Probably because Aunt Weiss showed him that there was nothing he could do to hold her down anymore. Even her calmly leaving the family without putting up a fight was just another slap to his face. 'I could crush you right now like a bug, but I won't. Because you're not worth squishing.' Something like that. I think. At least, that's what I'd like to believe was going through her mind at the time. I doubt it, though."

"Nah. I'm-a believe it. That sounds like Lilly's mom."

Ivory sighed. "I don't know. Aunt Weiss has mostly gotten rid of the side of her that would crush anything in her way. Unless Lilly is threatened, then she goes full-on mama-Ursa mode."

"I think that's any mom. I know my mom wouldn't hesitate to slice up anything that threatened me or Athena. Even though she's the littlest in the entire family."

Ivory looked up at the sky, blowing away a snowflake that was headed right for her face.

"You two are so different," Leon said.

She turned to him.

"But at the same time, there's so much you have in common."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Well, there's that thing you both do, where you just sorta stare off into space and think about stuff. Lilly always did that."

"I don't stare off into space."

"Yeah, you do." He poked her in the side and she twitched.

"I will cut you!"

He chuckled. "You also both idolize Weiss a lot. And you both place a lot of pressure on yourselves. She thinks it's her job to carry on her mom's legacy. And you think it's your job to carry on the family name."

She looked down at the snow. Her toes were starting to go numb.

"Red doesn't look bad on you, by the way."

"What a subject jump."

He chuckled. "We really should head back inside. You're pale enough as it is."

She growled at him before stomping toward the house.

"Wait, what about my cloak?"

"I'm going to dye it white!"

"Hey! No! That shit's expensive!"

 

* * * * *

 

It was evening when Leon passed by the office of Jacques Schnee, which was located on the second floor, opposite the mansion from Whitley's study. Unlike the latter, this office was enormous in size, perfectly matching his ego. At least, that's how Leon saw it.

"Who else would have pictures of himself plastered all around the house?" he mumbled.

He heard voices coming from inside the office. Against his better judgment, Leon decided to eavesdrop, looking down both ends of the hallway to make sure the coast was clear.

"What are you doing?" Ivory said, upon which Leon immediately quieted her and urged her to join him.

"Your uncle's about to have a meeting with your grandpa and a couple other bigwig types," he whispered.

"And you think it's a good idea to just eavesdrop on them?" she whispered back.

"Of course not. I fully recognize that this is a very shitty idea, but I'm gonna do it anyway cuz I live dangerously!"

She sighed heavily.

"Now hush so we can listen in!"

"I am _not_ going to participate in your shenanigans!"

"Oh, c'mon. Don't you wanna break the rules at least _once_ in your life?"

She sighed before squatting against the door with him to listen in on the conversation.

 

* * * * *

 

"I find it rather strange that the military wants to involve itself directly in SDC dealings," Whitley said. "Although I suppose that isn't all that surprising, considering my father sits on the Atlas Council."

"You must understand, President Whitley," General Sergei Holland began, "that we have observed Vacuo forces, armed and manned almost entirely by Jupiter Enterprises, mobilizing their, fortifying strategic locations around the Vacuo kingdom, and even extending their reach out to Menagerie and Vale. It is for this reason that all resources available to Atlas, especially the Schnee Dust Company, be brought under the fold of the military."

"I'm guessing, then, that all private exports of Dust are to be halted?"

"I've already signed off on it, Whitley," Jacques said. "The only signature needed now is that of the company president."

"Of course."

Whitley stared at the document as an attendant passed it over to him. It had the signatures of every single board member except his. Although he had veto power even in a situation like this, he understood better than anyone that this wasn't really an option at all. Ever since becoming president of the company five years ago, he was always on a tight leash. That his wife died in childbirth made him all the more useful to his father, who exploited to no end the "tragic company president" image brought on by Gwendolyn's untimely demise, an act that Whitley more than despised his father for.

As far as he was concerned, he had two options on the table: to veto the agreement or to sign on. To veto would mean political suicide. He would be ousted from his position in the company in short order, losing his home and everything he needed to care for not only his own children, but for his sisters and their daughters as well. After all, it was he who had been funneling money over to Weiss for the last twenty years so that she and Lilly could live comfortably. It was he who had convinced Jacques to allow Ivory to stay at their manor in order to keep a closer eye on her.

But to sign on to the agreement meant forfeiting his soul. After all, he did not believe in the same things his father and General Holland did. He agreed with President Kronos Jupiter's assessment that the mines left behind in Vacuo were no longer property of the SDC. The last thing he wanted was to start a war between the two countries, ending the twenty-year peace, an even shorter interval than the peace after the Great War a hundred years ago.

Nevertheless, between himself and his sisters, he was not one to rush into things without first thinking it through. He would make the wise decision today. It might not be the right one at this moment, but it would ensure that he would be able to win the war by forfeiting one battle.

"Gentlemen," Whitley said, continuing to stare at the document. "I have read the agreement and have made my decision."

"So, you endorse it?" General Holland said.

"You are all fully aware of my feelings regarding the mines we left behind on Sanus that Jupiter Enterprises has claimed for itself. You are also fully aware of my desire to maintain peace for as long as possible. We all lived through that war twenty years ago. It nearly destroyed humankind. I would like for my children to grow up never knowing such horrors. That said, I do not intend on obstructing the wishes of the company. All other board members, including my father, have signed on to the agreement. My signature is not necessary. I will not veto the agreement, but I will not endorse it with my pen either."

"You certainly are a shrewd one," said François Rousseau, Jacques's new business partner and a sitting member on the board of directors. It was this man who drafted the agreement alongside the only other person present at this meeting, Colonel Franz Gottfried, right-hand man and chief advisor to General Sergei Holland. "I believe you've made the correct decision for the company as well. After all, we can't project the image that the Schnee Dust Company is somehow belligerent. With the president's refusal, you can continue to serve as the company's good image. Should things fall apart, it will be easy for you to pick up the pieces." He turned to Jacques. "Your son certainly has taken after his father with regard to his business sense."

"His PR skills are astounding, don't you think?" Jacques said.

The five men in the room shared a laugh, but Whitley recognized the emptiness behind it. It made him sick to his stomach to be somewhat complicit in this deal, but he recognized the sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve victory in the long run. After all, wars are not won without cost.

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen," Whitley said, standing up, "I would like to spend some time with my children before we are all swamped with urgent military matters."

"Family time certainly is important," Colonel Gottfried said. "Hold them close. You never know when you will have another chance to do so."

Whitley gave him a brief glance before leaving the room.

 

* * * * *

 

 _Crap!_ Leon said before wrapping his arms around Ivory and teleporting both of them down the hallway. Whitley just barely missed them, looking left and right as he closed the door behind him and spotting what appeared to be rose petals slowly fading away.

"Huh," he muttered. "That's strange."

Down the hallway, just out of sight, Leon peeked around the corner to make sure no one saw them.

"That was a close one," he said.

"You idiot!" Ivory said, smacking him on the shoulder. "Would you warn me the next time you do something like that?"

"Sorry," he chuckled. "Did I scare you?"

"No! Just, shut up!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he said with a mock salute.

"Anyway, let's get out of here—wait, someone's coming."

They both peeked past the wall, spotting General Holland and Colonel Gottfried headed their way.

"They're gonna see my rose petals!" Leon whispered in a panic.

Without another word, Ivory grabbed him by the collar and planted a kiss on his mouth. His eyes were wide open as the two military officers stopped by them.

"Uh," he said as Ivory finished kissing him.

"Schnee," General Holland said.

"Sir!" she replied, standing at attention.

The general let out a sigh. "You're in your own home, so I'm going to ignore what I just saw. Besides, you're still...at that age. But please, remember that you represent all of Atlas when you don that uniform. At least find a place more private than the hallways."

"Yes, sir!"

"As you were."

Leon watched as the two continued down the hall. Something about Colonel Gottfried made his skin crawl, but he ignored the sensation for now.

"What in the world just happened?" he said, looking at Ivory.

"Nothing," she said, marching away.

"Wait, you're not just gonna plant a wet one on me and expect me to ignore it."

"We were in a tight situation and I did what needed to be done to avoid suspicion."

"Oh, so that kiss, there was nothing behind it?"

"There was something behind it. A plan to keep from getting caught."

"Man, you really are ice cold."

"Were you hoping there was something more?"

"Nope. Not at all. I enjoy being your pawn."

"Good. Come, we need to investigate this matter further."

"Man, oh, man, you should not be using that word with me right now."

"What word?"

"'Come.'"

"By the gods. Will you grow up, Leon?"

 

* * * * *

 

"Our first strike point will be Menagerie," General Holland said as his staff convened for a strategic meeting. "Salem's Continent is currently infeasible as a battleground purely due to the fact that the Grimm swarms are far too dense there."

"There's no way to get any assistance from our battalion stationed at the tomb?" a staff member said.

"Absolutely not. In addition to the treaty signed by all five nations that bind all five battalions, the last twenty years have also cemented their loyalty to the fortress and to that alone. They will ignore any order we give them and will go as far as attacking our forces should we enter the kill-zone."

"The main battleground is still designated to be the region surrounding Vale and the northeast area of Vacuo," Colonel Gottfried said. "Our intelligence has gathered that Vale has a near-certain probability of aligning itself with Vacuo, same as the Great War a hundred years ago. Our strategy, therefore, will consist of securing either an alliance or at least neutrality with Mistral. As for Menagerie, the strikes we have planned will be small in scale."

"How do we get our forces all the way over there, though?" another staff member said.

"We have a new technology that we have yet to unveil publicly," General Holland said. "It's an incredibly energy-intensive weapon, but it also allows instantaneous travel between any two points on the globe."

"As in, a wormhole?"

"Precisely," Colonel Gottfried said.

"From the science, it seems a tremendous amount of energy is required to even open one, let alone sustain it, enough energy to break the crust of the planet. Is this safe?"

"We've already performed tests at our northwestern region. We successfully transported an entire regiment from our land to the tip of one of the islands associated with Salem's Continent, thereby exterminating the Grimm present there. We also managed to secure a spawning pool in the process."

"The tests proved successful," a military scientist said. "We were able to keep the wormhole stable for twenty-one hours precisely before it collapsed on its own, but we were able to re-open it once we gathered the materials necessary."

"This is amazing," another officer said. "This new weapon could be the key to our victory. We could literally march troops right into Vacuo itself and bypass all of their defenses."

"Not so fast, Major," General Holland said. "This technology is not without its limitations. It would be just as easy for them to march their troops right back at us or even place a concrete barrier over the wormhole."

"Or even to fire a weapon of mass destruction through to our side," Colonel Gottfried said.

"Colonel, if you will."

"Sir." He stood up, heading to the front of the briefing room, where a giant map of Remnant was projected onto the wall. "Our first strikes against Menagerie will be performed by precision specialist teams with the primary objective of terrorizing the population into inaction. The second objective is to secure the new Dust deposits in the eastern region of the continent, clean them out, and return to Atlas before the new kingdom can react.

"Simultaneous to this operation will be an envoy to Mistral, offering them said Dust as a peace offering. The new headmaster of Haven Academy, who also sits on the Mistral Council, will be difficult to persuade, borderline impossible as she is loyal to Headmaster Oscar Pine of Beacon Academy. She will be constantly attempting to keep the country aligned with Vale and Menagerie."

"What about assassination or kidnapping?" an officer asked.

"Out of the question. She is too public of a figure for something as drastic as that. We cannot risk the public taking up arms against us. Instead, we will place agents within the kingdom to drum up support for us among the population while discrediting Headmaster Lyon, painting her as too soft or too lenient. We will also spread word about Vacuo's increasing greed and their plot to take over all of the world's Dust supply and sell it at a much higher cost."

"Which isn't too far from the truth," General Holland added.

"Yes. This plan will also be supported by our operations in Menagerie. Our forces will be dressed in Vacuo uniforms. The attack will be blamed on Vacuo and Jupiter Enterprises and both Menagerie and Mistral will be turned against them. It is unlikely that we'll be able to get Menagerie's support at all, but at the very least, we need them to stay out of the war. We will already be fighting against Vacuo and Vale simultaneously. Support from the Faunus would spell our doom, even with our new wormhole technology."

"What about the CCTS Towers?" a lower-ranking staff said.

"We'll leave ours up and running for the time being," General Holland said. "After all, with the addition of the tower in Menagerie, shutting ours down will do nothing to halt global communication. If we can gain the support of Mistral, we'll be able to control the network as we please, and even if that is not the case, we intend to take control of Beacon's tower, or at least destroy it."

"The previous attempt to sabotage the tower was unsuccessful," Colonel Gottfried said. "Fortunately, however, we managed to silence the ones we were using for the operation. There is zero risk of them being traced back to us."

"Our focus for now will be to make use of the agreement with the Schnee Dust Company," General Holland said. "The vast Dust reserves they have in stock will be what we need to secure Mistral's non-interference."

"Sir, you're forgetting one thing," an officer said. "Hillphire Innovations has strong sway with the Mistral Council. Dr. Hillphire himself might not have a seat, but his words alone are enough to convince half the council to follow him."

"We already have that taken care of," Colonel Gottfried said.

"Sir?"

"I will personally see to it that he does not interfere. Unlike Headmaster Lyon, who is a very public figure, Dr. Hillphire is more of a recluse. Also, his company can't run without him. We'd be taking down two birds with one stone. It would be a tragedy if his shuttle were to suffer a malfunction and he were to perish. Science would be set back probably a whole century without his mind."

 

* * * * *

 

"This isn't good," Leon whispered to Ivory.

She put a finger to her lips to silence him. They were up in the air ducts, but it wasn't as though their hiding place was soundproof. When the briefing came to a close, they both crept toward their exit, but the panel Leon had stepped on came loose and the entire section they were standing on gave way beneath them, sending both crashing to the ground below, right in the middle of the briefing.

"What in the world?" General Holland said as he stood up with the rest of his staff.

"I thought I smelled rats," Colonel Gottfried said. "Wait a minute, you're Ivory Schnee."

"Schnee! What on Remnant are you doing?"

Leon and Ivory glanced around. They were completely surrounded on all sides.

"I don't think a kiss is gonna get us out of this one," Leon whispered to her amid the burgeoning chaos.

"Shut up," she whispered back.

"Well, I have an idea. Play along, yeah?"

Before she could even respond, he grabbed her in a headlock, holding his sword to her throat.

"Nobody move!" Leon said. "Or the Snow Angel gets it!"

"I thought I recognized you," Colonel Gottfried said. "You were on one of the first teams to compete in the tournament this year."

"Leon Rose!" General Holland said. "Cease this at once!"

"Sorry," he said. "Can't do that. The princess is comin' with me."

"So, is this Vale's way of declaring war on us?"

"Nah. This is just one delinquent's way of saying 'fuck you' to all you old fart bags!"

"Seize them!"

Leon gave the entire room a giant middle finger to go with his giant grin before activating his Semblance, leaving behind a cloud of red rose petals.

_"Where did they go?"_

_"After them!"_

_"Sound the alarms! Condition red! A student has been taken hostage!"_

_"Send photos of the suspect on all channels!"_

"I think it's time to exercise some old muscles," Colonel Gottfried said.

"Franz?" General Holland said.

"Don't worry, Sergei. I won't kill your student. I can't say the same about the intruder, however."

"You know it will be a lot more helpful if we take him in alive, don't you?"

"Of course. I'll try my best not to let him bleed out before we can interrogate him."

 

* * * * *

 

"The hell kind of plan was that?" Ivory said as she and Leon ran through corridor after corridor.

"I thought I might have to teleport through walls," he panted, "so I kinda memorized the layout of the place and picked a few spots to use as emergency escape routes. I can't use my Semblance too much, though, or I'll pass out."

"Still. This is hardly a plan."

"You know the school like the back of your hand, don't you?"

"I do."

"Then, lead the way."

"Unbelievable. The hostage taker is relying on his hostage to lead the way?"

"You're not actually my hostage!"

"You sure were convincing."

"Wha? Wait a minute, you're not trying to tell me you're into role-play, are you?"

She glared at him. He responded with a grin.

"Leon, I am seriously considering apprehending you myself," she said.

"I'm just joking! Anyway, which way do we go?"

"We need to stay away from public places. Your face will have already been sent out to every possible monitor in the network. And I'm not exactly one to blend in easily either."

Before they could make their next move, they ran right into the other three members of Team IVRY, who were participating in the search. The stand-off between them was intense, but short-lived.

"Team IVRY, what's your status?" a voice came from Renata's scroll.

"Negative," she said into her headset. "No sign of them here."

"Continue the search!"

"Roger." She shut off her microphone. "This way."

Ivory followed her team through the service tunnels with Leon just behind her.

"What are you doing?" Ivory said to them.

"Holland is hunting you, isn't he?" Yorath said. "Well, mostly he's hunting Leon because he took you hostage, but considering that you're leading the way and not him, we're assuming that was all an act by him to get you off the hook, captain, which tells us that you're _both_ in trouble."

"Wow, you got all that from just the fact that Ivory was leading the way?" Leon said.

"Captain trusts Leon," Viktor said. "We trust Leon."

"Besides that," Renata said, "if Holland is after you, that means..." She looked at her scroll to keep up with communications between the search teams. "Uh-oh."

"What is it?" Ivory said.

"Looks like Colonel Gottfried is involved in the search."

"This is not good."

"That's the guy that was with the General, right?" Leon said.

"Colonel Franz Gottfried is no mere staff officer. He's the commanding officer of the Schwarze Sonne specialist corps, the only direct rivals to my mother's Schneesturm specialist corps. He's also no mere officer. He's literally the best in his entire corps. Some say he's even better than my mother."

"I don't believe that one bit."

She looked over at him.

"I'm pretty sure your mom could kick his ass. I know you definitely could."

She smirked before turning back to the front.

"This gate will lead us to the storm drain," Renata said. "I drafted a route just in case we needed to do something like this." She handed it to Ivory.

"You planned for just such an event?"

"Well, mostly so we could get out in case the city were to ever be under siege just like Beacon twenty years ago, but hey, it works for us right now."

"We'll join you out there shortly," Yorath said. "We need to at least make an appearance when we all report our findings."

"We will wait for you at the old place, Renata," Ivory said.

"Leon," Viktor said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Take care of captain."

"Don't worry, big guy," Leon said. "I won't let anything happen to her."

The three saluted and Ivory returned the gesture.

"Leon," Ivory began, "let's move."


	13. A Princess in Exile

CHAPTER XIII

_A Princess in Exile_

 

Ivory looked around before pushing the manhole cover out of the way, hoisting herself out of the storm drain before reaching down to help her companion up as well.

"So," Leon said. "What do we do now?"

"For one, you're a fugitive," Ivory began, "so we both need to lay low. Fortunately, we're in the slums. People here won't really pay too much attention to us."

"Even though my face is all over the news?"

She nodded as she led the way down an alleyway. "Those living in this sector of the city have enough to worry about. When you're barely scraping by, nothing else really matters."

"Even if they put a price on my head?"

"That won't happen for a while. Most of the searching will be done in the inner city, particularly the upper class. For certain they're already at my family's house."

"Well, as soon as I'm on a shuttle outta here, you can go back home. Tell them you outsmarted me or something. Wouldn't exactly be much of a stretch."

"I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"You heard what they were talking about in there. I can't do anything as a mere student. General Holland already removed the retired general James Ironwood from his advising committee. I would hardly be anything in comparison."

"You plan on going to Mistral with me?"

"Yes. We need to stop that assassination. William Hillphire must not die. He is much too important. And if there is a threat against Headmaster Lyon as well, we need to do everything we can to protect her."

"Why her, though? You heard what they said. She's off-limits."

She didn't answer.

"Also, are you sure you're okay with leaving the city without seeing your family first?"

"I have already made my peace with that fact."

Leon glanced over at her. She said those words with her signature poker face, but he wondered how she actually felt about being forced to leave without at least saying goodbye.

"Could you at least call them on your scroll?" he said.

"That would put my uncle in a very bad position and also compromise our location," she said.

"You really have thought this through, haven't you?"

"One of us had to."

He sighed. "Well, one thing's for sure. You can't go around looking like that."

They reached the end of the alleyway and she turned to face him. "What are you trying to suggest?"

"Your hair."

She frowned. "Is there something wrong with it?"

He nodded. "It's pretty obvious who you are with your appearance. You're gonna have to dye your hair. And change into a different outfit."

She growled.

"I'm not trying to tease you. I'm being serious."

"I know!"

"Why are you getting mad at me?"

"Ugh."

"C'mon. First things first, we need to get you out of that uniform. And I need to ditch these clothes, too. Man, this cloak and the new coat were so expensive!"

 

* * * * *

 

Whitley looked down at his desk as Yorath finished delivering the news regarding his niece.

"She would have wanted you to know," Yorath said.

"Yes," Whitley said. "Thank you. Is she safe?"

"She's headed to a safe house in the slums with Leon. Renata and Viktor are making other preparations as well."

"And she intends on leaving, does she?"

"That's what the encrypted message said. Something about preventing an all-out war."

Whitley sighed. "She's just like her mother. I'll pass on the message to Winter. Please keep this quiet. And make sure you keep your head on a swivel. You are Ivory's closest associates. They may suspect you as well."

"The three of us plan on taking turns visiting you throughout the week with Sunday reserved for all of us visiting at once."

"Do you think there may be a threat to our lives?"

"We cannot be sure, but it's a possibility. For now, though, they have kept up the pretense that Leon has taken her hostage, which keeps her off the hook, but naturally, Atlas Military is not going to take any chances. If there is a possibility of her being in on the charade, they have already calculated that into their response as well."

"I see."

"For now, I do not think it is necessary for you and your family to flee."

"It's not as if there would be anywhere safe for us to flee to anyway." _Except maybe Oasis. Not even General Holland is stupid enough to send an army to the home of the Silver Maiden._ "Yorath, will your family be safe?"

"As safe as they can be. I do not believe there is any suspicion on the three of us yet, but one can never be too sure. We intend on continuing our courses at Atlas Academy so as to avoid any suspicion."

"Yorath, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to you and Viktor and Renata. You are more than mere teammates to Ivory. You are all good friends to her."

"She is our captain, after all."

 

* * * * *

 

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Ivory said, looking at herself in a mirror.

"I disagree," Leon said, putting a hand to his chin. "Blonde really goes well with your blue eyes."

"Ugh. And I can't believe you forced me to cut it!"

"It's not _that_ short! Jeez! You literally only cut like a foot off!"

"Excuse me? My hair used to reach the floor! It barely reaches my upper back now!"

"Like I said, it looks good on you."

She reddened.

"It's gonna be tough getting used to your new clothes, though. Jeans and a t-shirt. I never thought I'd ever see Ivory Schnee wearing such casual clothing."

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Funny thing, though. Lilly really liked wearing clothes that casual."

"Did she?"

He nodded. "She hated dresses and stuff. I mean, she totally rocked them, but shorts or jeans and a t-shirt were her thing. V-necks, mostly."

They both put on their white snow jackets before heading out of the salon. With their new getups, they blended in with the crowds perfectly. The police had a much scarcer presence here and getting to the safe house was a matter of hugging the mobs of people while ducking into alleyways whenever necessary.

"This is it, huh?" Leon said, looking up at a rundown apartment building.

"Yes," she said. "Renata and the others should be here at sundown."

He followed her up to the fifth floor. The entire building smelled foul, but it didn't seem to bother his companion. She kept an eye on her surroundings the whole time. Even though she had changed her clothing and dyed her hair blonde, she was clearly not from around here from the way she walked and carried herself. He caught up to her before taking her arm in his. She looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" she said.

"You stand out too much," he said. "Try and relax a little. You're too obvious."

She sighed before allowing herself to loosen up.

"That's a bit better."

She reached under a nearby fire extinguisher for a key before opening the door to the safe house, locking it behind her. The refrigerator was stocked with countless bottles of water and the pantry was loaded with military rations from the ground to the ceiling. Each one had an expiration date far off into the future, although Leon knew that Atlas rations tended to last ten years beyond the actual date.

"Spaghetti and meatball," Leon read one of the MRE packs. "You want this one?"

"I don't mind either way," Ivory said, taking a seat on a couch.

"I think you're more of a brisket kinda gal, eh?"

She didn't answer. He went to the fridge to grab two bottles of water before sitting on the other couch, setting her food on the coffee table before getting to work on his MRE. He opened up the individual pouches, reading a plethora of instructions before giving up. He watched as his companion went through her own pack like clockwork, heating up her entrée and preparing the other snacks and side dishes in roughly two minutes.

"Here," she said, reaching out.

He handed her his entrée pouch and heater and watched as she added just enough water to activate the heater before putting the meal pouch inside.

"Rest it on a box so the water doesn't leak out and so the gases can escape," she said.

"Okay," he said, doing just that. The pouch was quite warm. Hot, even.

The meal was without words. Leon watched his companion, noticing her sigh more often than usual and stare off into space half the time, slowly going through her food.

"You thinking about home?" he said.

She looked over at him without answering before turning back to her meal, finishing it with the bottle of water.

"Look. I'd like to be able to tell you that it's all gonna be fine, but I can't. I don't even know what tomorrow's gonna bring us."

"You don't have to do this, Leon," she said. "I've already prepared myself for this possibility."

Stoic as usual. He didn't really expect anything else from her anymore. Still, he wanted her to at least deal with the emotions. After all, he knew better than anyone the price of keeping things bottled in for too long.

"Hey," he said. "I'll take first watch. Go ahead and get some rest. You look like you could use it."

She looked at him.

"I mean it. I'm too wired to go to sleep right now and at least one of us needs to be rested up. Don't worry about the trash either. I'll take care of it."

She stood up without a word before heading into the only bedroom. The sheets were old, but unused. There was almost no odor as she lowered herself to the mattress, which creaked under the weight of her small body. She lay on her side, facing away from the door. She found her eyes blurring and something wet rolled down to the white sheets.

After a minute of trying to fight it off, she allowed herself to cry, sobbing quietly so as to keep her companion outside from hearing. He had enough on his plate today. He didn't need the burden of her experiencing an emotional breakdown.

Meanwhile, Leon sat against the door, closing his eyes as Ivory sobbed on the other side. He wished he could do something for her, but she wasn't the type to let anyone else in. She would deal with this herself.

 _I hope you learn to rely on others, Ivory,_ he thought before getting up to take watch in the living room.

 

* * * * *

 

"Any sign of them?" General Holland asked as Colonel Gottfried entered his office.

"Not yet," he said, "but I already have everything covered. We don't know for sure whether Ivory Schnee is a hostage or an accomplice. I have eyes on both her teammates and her family, just in case."

"Anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Yorath Schtolteheim was spotted going to the Schnee Manor, but given the team's participation in the search, it's possible he went to inform the family personally of the situation. I also got into contact with Winter Schnee already."

"Where exactly is she?"

"Our base at the north pole."

"What is she doing all the way over there?"

"I thought you assigned her there."

"Hmm. Anyway, continue."

"Colonel Schnee is aware of the situation regarding her daughter. She's getting into contact with the boy's parents as we speak to try and get him to give the girl up."

"Give Team IVRY leave to rest for the night. Order them to go home."

"I highly doubt they will abide. After all, that is their team leader out there."

"All the more reason they should rest. If they truly have nothing to do with the situation, they will need all the rest they can get. If they happen to be part of the conspiracy, then that will cut our enemy's resources off."

"Very well, then, sir."

General Holland leaned forward against his desk. "I wonder what in the world those two were even doing."

"To be honest, sir, I believe they were eavesdropping on us both times. Ivory Schnee has never been one to be randomly kissing boys or sneaking around maintenance shafts."

"Then, she has taken after her mother."

"Winter Schnee?"

"Yes. There's a reason you are on my advising staff and not her or James Ironwood. I know you are on my side. Schnee and Ironwood are loyal to the Coalition of the Five Kingdoms."

"I understand. I do thank you for your trust in me."

"I thank you for your loyalty, Franz."

 

* * * * *

 

"Master Whitley, you called for me?" Klein said as he entered the study.

"Yes," Whitley said. "Please, close the door behind you and lock it."

Klein did as he was told before walking up to the desk. "I came as quickly as I could. What is the matter?"

"It's possible that the military is watching our home right now, so I need you to act completely normal. Ivory has gone missing."

"Just like Lilly?"

"Not quite. We know she's still in the city, but she and her companion are wanted by the military right now."

"Leon Rose?"

"That's right. From what Yorath has told me, Ivory and Leon are trying to stop a war from erupting, though part of me wonders just how much two children can accomplish."

"About as much as children could accomplish twenty years ago, I gather."

Whitley smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. That's precisely the reason I have faith in them. Now, Klein, I need you to look after the house while I'm gone."

"Master Whitley?"

"My father should not be home for the whole day, but if he does show up, please tell him I'm on a business meeting with a representative from Hillphire Innovations."

"And what if the military comes to the manor?"

"Same thing."

"You will need a suitable disguise if you are to go around the city unnoticed."

"I already have that covered. Ivory's teammates are experts in their field, after all."

"Sir. Please, do be careful."

"Look after my children while I am gone, Klein."

"Yes, sir."

 

* * * * *

 

Leon sprang up from the couch as someone began unlocking and opening the door. He darted to the hallway to spy on the living room, ready to rush into the bedroom to grab Ivory and teleport himself and her to pre-designated escape zones. The door opened and he peeked around the corner to spot Renata also peeking inside. She turned to make sure no one was following her before shutting and locking the door behind her.

"Renata?" Leon said quietly.

Her eyes went straight to him and she seemed to relax a little bit. "Where's Ivory?" she said.

"Right here," Ivory said, putting on her jacket as she joined Leon.

"Were you able to get some rest?" Leon asked her.

"As much as I could get. You?"

He nodded.

"Renata, status?"

Her team's assassin pulled out an encrypted scroll, sending out a message to the rest of the team. "They'll be up in a minute. How have you two been?"

"A little tense," Leon said, "but other than that, okay, I guess."

"We had some MREs earlier," Ivory said. "Will you be all right?"

"I had a sandwich on the way here," Renata said. "I'm pretty sure we all have tails, by the way."

"I had a feeling you'd become suspects. I trust you had no problem losing them."

"That shit was easy. Viktor knows how to blend in, too, and so does Yorath, so they should be fine."

Knocking came from the door and all three of them drew their weapons before Renata crept to the door. She made eye contact with Leon, who took Ivory by the hand and led her to the hallway, ready to teleport at a moment's notice. Renata opened the door to allow Viktor, Yorath, and a third person covered in a hood into the apartment.

"You guys weren't followed, were you?" she said to them.

"What do you think we are? Amateurs?" Yorath said.

"Who's the extra guy?" Leon said as he and Ivory emerged from the hallway.

The last individual brought down his hood to show his face and Ivory's eyes instantly lit up.

"Uncle Whitley?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I know you couldn't come back to the house after what Yorath told me," he said, "so I came out here."

"You do know how dangerous this is, don't you?"

"I do. And I might not be a combat expert like everyone here or both of my sisters, but if I didn't stick my neck out for the people I love, what kind of man would that make me?"

Without another word, Ivory marched over to him before giving him a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you in person."

"Don't worry. I understand the situation you're in. You're trying to stop a war from engulfing the planet, aren't you?"

She nodded. " _Trying_ is the operative word here."

"They plan on assassinating Dr. William Hillphire," Leon said.

"Shit," Renata said. "They're going that far, huh?"

"They view him as too much of an obstacle to allow to live," Ivory said. "The good thing is that he's not exactly a slouch. Killing him won't happen without a fight, but nevertheless we intend on stopping the attempt altogether."

"And warning the Mistral Council of Atlas's intentions," Leon said.

"Uncle Whitley, will you be able to contact former general James Ironwood?"

"I could invite him to the house for some coffee," he said. "What for?"

"I need him to try and warn Vale of Atlas's upcoming intentions. Menagerie is also in danger."

"So, it's going to be the Great War all over again, is it?"

"Let's hope not," Leon said.

"Captain," Viktor said, stepping forward. "Shuttle is ready. You can leave any time."

"Thank you, Viktor," she said. "Listen. All of you. I want you to maintain pretenses. You cannot be suspected of being involved in this operation."

"And what about you?" Yorath said. "And your reputation?"

"They still think I'm a hostage, right?"

"I believe so."

"Then, let's keep it that way for as long as we can. Also, if you could all look after my family—"

"We've already got that covered," Renata said. "Each of us rotating out throughout the week and Sunday with all of us at the house together to play with the kids."

"Thank you." She turned to her uncle. "Please, look after everyone."

"Don't you worry about a thing," Whitley said. "I may not be a warrior like you, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."

She chuckled. "Okay, we've spent too much time in one place."

"I'll clean up here," Renata said. "Yorath, make sure Mister Schnee makes it back home in one piece. Viktor, keep an eye out for them, but keep your distance."

"Captain," Yorath said before saluting.

"No," Ivory said. "This may be the last time we see each other. I don't want our last interaction to be official military crap."

"Ma'am?" Viktor said.

"I am officially a traitor to the Atlas government. I am no longer your team captain. As such, I don't want any of you to refer to me so formally."

The three exchanged glances.

"All right, then, Ivory," Renata said.

"If that's what you wish, Miss Ivory," Yorath said.

"Ivory," Viktor said with a salute.

The team's leader took all three of her teammates in her arms. They all looked at one another as she held them tightly.

"Keep yourselves safe," Ivory said, backing away from them.

Leon glanced over at his companion. He was sure that her eyes were wetter than normal. He wished she'd let the tears fall freely. It was no shame to show one's tears before one's friends and family. But he knew she would never let it happen. After all, she was Ivory Schnee, daughter of Winter Schnee, and heiress to a legacy no one else could understand. To say that she had some level of pride did not even approach what she harbored in her heart.

"Leon," Whitley said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Remember what I asked you before."

He nodded. "I will. Nothing will happen to her. I swear it." He exchanged looks with Renata, Viktor, and Yorath, all of whom nodded.

"Better get going, you two," Renata said.

 

* * * * *

 

"Our plans have officially been sacked," Leon said as he and Ivory eyed the Atlas soldiers inspecting the private shuttle that Viktor had procured for them.

"We'll just have to wait until they clear the area," Ivory said.

"Yeah, and when's that gonna happen? Next month?"

She didn't answer, leading the way back to the terminal. They weren't ten feet in when they ran into the same group of seven that had accompanied Leon on his shuttle from Vale to Atlas.

"Shit," he said.

"I didn't think we'd be running into each other so soon," said Xavier, leader of the group.

Ivory said nothing. She was more than familiar with this band of ruffians. They were the world-famous Grimm Reapers, known for their brutality when dealing with Grimm outbreaks and their lack of any regard for collateral damage.

"Hmm," Xavier mumbled before looking back and forth between his scroll and the duo. "Do these guys look like 'em?" he said, showing his scroll to a teammate.

"Sure does, boss," the man said.

"Figures. Hair color's different, but that's definitely your faces on the wanted poster."

Ivory was ready to fight, but Leon grabbed her wrist to stop her from reaching for her weapon.

"You gonna take us in?" Leon said.

"'Fraid we're gonna have to," Xavier said. "The bounty's too big."

"I guess we have no choice."

"Leon!" Ivory whispered loudly to him.

"The gig's up. We'll just have to do what they want us to do."

She noticed him wink before she turned back to the group. Three of the seven were female, though one of them looked even younger than her. Ivory was familiar with the group's brutal ways, but there was something about them that painted a picture of extreme solidarity, with Xavier's will alone serving as the will of the team.

"Very well, then," Ivory said.

"As expected of the Schnee princess," Xavier said. "So prim and proper and very smart, too."

 

* * * * *

 

"I already told you," the shuttle pilot said to the Atlas military officer, "I'm waiting for my boss to get here."

"And who exactly is your boss?" the soldier asked.

"Look, you got a warrant for that information?"

"In that case, we're not leaving. Not until your boss gets here so we can speak to him directly."

"Is something the matter here?"

The soldiers took aim at the Grimm Reapers, who were headed to the shuttle.

"What exactly happened to warrant this kind of behavior?" Xavier said, putting his hands up.

"You, identify yourself!" the Atlas military officer said.

"Name's Xavier Dunkelmann. I'm renting this shuttle for a trip to Mistral. Is there a problem?"

"Where are your papers?"

He handed his documentation to the officer, who looked it over before turning his attention to the rest of the group, particularly Leon and Ivory. He held up his scroll to compare the faces on the memo to the whole team's faces, but finding nothing, he returned to his post.

"All right, then," he said. "Next time, please leave some paperwork with your pilot so we don't have to go through this trouble again."

"Yeah, I did that last time and you guys still gave me a hard time," Xavier said, watching as the soldiers marched away. "All righto, everybody on the shuttle."

The craft was airborne and over the ocean when Leon finally got out of his seat and walked over to Xavier, who was just leaving the cockpit after a lengthy conversation with the pilot, likely regarding the whole situation.

"So," he began, "I have to ask. How the hell did that soldier not recognize me or Ivory?"

"Hey, you have your Semblance, I have mine."

"What is your Semblance?" Ivory said. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I am capable of inducing prosopagnosia on anybody I want to."

"Protozoa-what?" Leon said.

"Prosopagnosia," Ivory repeated, "also called face blindness. Those afflicted with the disorder have an impairment of facial recognition. They don't even recognize their own face in the mirror."

"Whoa. How many people can you do?"

"Never really figured out my limit," Xavier said. "I could probably affect everyone in this shuttle right now."

"Damn. That's pretty useful. Although, you guys mostly hunt Grimm and stuff, don't you?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's in the name, but we do bounties every now and then when we need extra cash."

"Speaking of the bounty," Ivory began, "why are you helping us? Did you not mention that the bounty for capturing Leon and returning me home was quite high?"

"Yup. Thirty million Lien."

"What the fuck?" Leon screamed.

"And they already had a bounty up in less than twenty-four hours," Ivory said. "Colonel Gottfried sure works quickly. What made you pass it up?"

"Cuz it's Atlas," Xavier said. "Your country's cheaped out on us more than once in the past and _again_ just two days ago. I doubt they'd actually pay the thirty mil. This is our great big 'fuck you' to Atlas before we leave for good."

"It was fortunate that you were also headed to Mistral, then."

"Well, not really. We went to General Sergei Holland to collect on several years' worth of pay and that asshole held off on us again. We didn't really have any plans afterward. You guys heading off to Mistral's just a godsend. I hear the northern regions have been pretty infested with Grimm lately. We'll find a town or two who have money and wanna pay for some extermination services."

"And the towns that can't pay?" Leon said.

"Well, they'll just have to find someone willing to do the work for free."

"Mister Xavier Dunkelmann," Ivory began, "we are very grateful to you for your assistance. This is not much, but I hope it is suitable recompense for your troubles."

He accepted the wad of cash from her and counted it. "Fifty thousand Lien," he said. "I always knew the Schnees had good business sense. If you need our services in the future, here's my info."

"Much appreciated," Ivory said, accepting the business card.

Leon turned to follow Ivory back to their seats when Xavier called out to him.

"My old offer still stands, kid," he said.

"Thanks," Leon said, "but right now, I've got something important to take care of."

"For sure. You make sure to look out for that girl of yours. She looks smart and tough, but a little young."

Leon looked over his shoulder at Ivory, who was staring out the window. "Yeah. Still innocent in so many ways."


	14. Eater of Worlds

CHAPTER XIV

_Eater of Worlds_

 

Athena panted as she hid behind a tree. They had been fighting that thing for hours now, but it didn't seem to take any damage from their attacks. Their goal now was purely evasion while keeping it away from the village. At Echo's insistence, Zenith, Aspen, and Brook had gone back home, but Nerida refused to leave her side.

 _It's not that she's holding us back or anything,_ Athena thought, _but having an extra person to worry about is just unnecessary._

"Come out, come out!" the Devourer said. "It's no use hiding! I can smell your sweat, you beautiful golden warrior!"

_What is it with this creepy motherfucker?_

"There you are!"

Athena rolled out of the way, barely dodging a fiery blast that tore apart the tree she had been using as cover. She held up Aegis, ready to counterattack with Pallas as the thing charged at her through the forest, uprooting trees and swallowing some of them whole in the process. Perhaps the most unnerving part about him was how human he looked on the outside.

"Feed me!" he yelled as he engaged Athena in a high-speed battle.

The Golden Girl of Vale wasn't one to be taken down so easily and she succeeded in fending off his attack before Echo managed to nail him with an Explosive Dust arrow. While he regenerated his body, Athena joined up with Echo and Nerida, fleeing with them.

"That was my last one," Echo said.

"I have a small stash of grenades and other explosives nearby," Nerida said.

"Since when?"

"You know that hermit who saved my life and nursed me back to health? He was actually also one of those paramilitary type survivor dudes. He had a whole crate of landmines, grenades, and rockets. I don't know if it'll be of any use against something that can regenerate its own flesh perpetually, but it seems to be the only thing that at least slows the bastard down."

"I ain't complainin'," Athena said. "Lead the way!"

 

* * * * *

 

"You good?" Perseus said as he patched up Xanthus's wound.

"Yes," his partner replied. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"This guy's a real pain in the ass," Ingrid said. "How the heck can he be so friggin' strong?"

"What I want to know is what in the world it is," Yuan said. "He calls himself 'The Great Devourer,' but aside from title, that doesn't tell us much."

"He's part Grimm," Penny said.

"How can you tell?" Perseus said.

"She's a professional Huntress," Xanthus said. "Of course she can tell."

"You probably didn't notice because it happened too quickly," Penny began, "but every time it regenerates, it's not normal flesh that replaces what's been destroyed. It's Grimm flesh."

"I did notice the black flesh," Yuan said, "but I had mistakenly attributed it to just whatever his nature is."

"It's Grimm. I'm sure of it."

"There's something else that disturbs me, though," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "He's a Grimm with an aura, if that's the case, but not quite."

"You're right," Ingrid said. "It's like he's half-Grimm, half something else. I've been getting the creeps from that thing ever since we started fighting it."

"Okay, let's try one more attack," Yuan said, standing up.

 

* * * * *

 

Nerida and Athena attempted a tag-team battle, but it was no good. He was much too quick and strong for them both.

"As if his regenerative ability wasn't enough," Athena said.

"Wait," Nerida said. "Check that out."

They watched as his wounds took longer to heal than before.

"Are we actually damaging it?" Echo said.

"That would be too good to be true," Athena said.

"You!" the Devourer yelled at them. "Why can't you just sit still! I'm hungry!"

"Okay, here goes nothing," Echo said, aiming an arrow with a grenade attached to the end. Nerida pulled the pin before the arrow went flying. The Devourer swallowed the projectile, burping before the upper half of his body exploded into a cloud of blood and gore.

"That's fuckin' gross," Athena said, holding up Aegis to block the rain of body parts. "And it looks like you're right, Nerida. It's taking a lot longer to regenerate."

"Hey, did you kill it?" Perseus said as he and the rest of the team joined them.

"Sure, if our luck turns," Echo said.

"Echo, do you have any Dust left?" Nerida asked.

"All out."

"What do you need it for?" Ingrid said, holding out an orange vial.

"Gonna try something," Nerida said, accepting the Dust. "Explosive, huh?"

"I use it for my Shadow Clones from time to time if it's safe to use bombs."

"He's regenerating," Yuan said.

"Here he comes!" Xanthus said.

Nerida poured some of the Dust into her palm before making a fist. The Devourer was halfway to them when she held her hand out. The group stared open-mouthed as an orange ball of light flew at the monster, exploding with so much force as to uproot the trees within a certain radius as well as completely obliterating the monster, leaving only a puddle of organic matter behind.

"Okay, if it regenerates from that," Perseus began, "I'm gonna quit."

As if on cue, several dozen Grimm of all types descended on them.

"Fuck this!" Perseus yelled before activating his Semblance and pummeling several of the monsters to death with his bare hands.

"You have a sword," Athena said. "Use it."

"I am!"

"What are they doing?" Nerida said.

"Are they...eating his body parts?" Echo said.

After consuming the flesh on the ground, the Grimm began attacking and eating each other as well. With every bout, the most dominant of them began to take on a different shape again before finally forming into something all too human.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Perseus said.

"That cements it," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "For sure he's a Grimm. Or at least he uses the form of a Grimm as a body."

"That hurt!" the Devourer said. "You guys should really stop playing with such dangerous things!"

"Yeah? Try this," Nerida said before launching another explosive ball of light at the creature, who swallowed it before exploding from the inside.

"Is that your Semblance?" Echo said to her.

"Yeah. I figured it out while I was recovering at the hermit's hut. He had some Dust lying around and I happened to catch some in my hand before accidentally setting fire to a nearby tree."

"So, you can take Dust and weaponize it with just your hands?" Xanthus said.

"I guess so."

"I see. Our Semblances are similar, then. Except it seems you actually consume the Dust that you use."

"You don't?"

"No. I expend aura only."

"From what I understand, though, your Semblance uses your aura up by default, right?"

"Yes, but because I consume none of the Dust, my aura drain is much higher than yours."

"I see."

"The school lesson is nice and all," Athena began, "but we seriously have to do something about this guy's regenerative ability."

They watched as the Grimm did the same thing before reforming into the Devourer.

"Did you guys notice that?" Ingrid said.

"You picked up on it, too, did you?" Penny said.

The cat Faunus nodded. "I thought I was seeing things earlier, but I know for sure it was real."

"What are you seeing?" Yuan said.

"Do you remember that new type of Grimm we faced last school year? Around spring time?"

"The Gargoyle Grimm?"

"Yeah. It formed into something similar before settling into its final shape as that Devourer guy."

"Do you think it could be related?" Xanthus said.

"It might be," Penny said. "There's no such things as coincidences with the forces of Darkness."

"Okay, that's enough," the Devourer said, his face devoid of the mania he had always harbored. "I'm getting tired of this nonsense."

"What the hell is going on?" Perseus said. "What changed?"

"Those damn Grimm are so flavorless. I need a soul. I need one now. And you are going to be it. You have quite the muscles, young man."

"What the fuck? Why me?"

The Devourer grinned before dashing at him so quickly that only Penny and Athena were able to keep up with his movements.

"Shit!" Perseus yelled as he blocked with his shield. The abomination was moving too fast for him to counter properly and he was left with no choice but to defend. Yuan and Ingrid tried to give him their aid, but the Devourer was incredibly skilled, fending them off while continuing to aim for Perseus.

"What's with the focus on him?" Nerida said.

"He's probably trying to decrease our numbers," Athena said, preparing to fight. "Perseus just happens to be the strongest, but slowest of our group."

"Fuck off!" Perseus yelled, nailing the monster in the chin with his shield, sending him reeling. He was going to finish off his opponent when the latter quickly righted himself, opening his mouth to an inhuman width.

"Perseus! Get out of there!"

Before the Devourer could swallow him whole, Penny tackled the monster to the ground, scuffling with him momentarily before the latter broke away from her.

"Damn you, woman!" the Devourer yelled. "I'm not interested in your kind!"

 _He can sense her true nature,_ Xanthus thought. _This thing is no ordinary Grimm. He may not be like anything we've ever faced before. The question remains, though. What in the world is he?_

"Am I not tasty enough for you?" Penny said before forming Aequitas and Veritas, her twin swords, in either hand.

"Not enough meat!" He held out a hand, launching a fireball at her, which she deflected with her sword.

 _That wasn't Dust,_ she thought. _That was magic._

"Did anyone else see the Rune on his hand just now?" Yuan said.

"You caught it, too, huh?" Ingrid said.

"What in the world is going on here?"

Without warning, the monster vanished, too fast for even Penny to track. "No!" she yelled as he reappeared beside Echo, preparing to swallow her.

"Echo!" Nerida yelled, shielding her childhood friend.

Athena was already upon the two, trying to pull both to safety. To everyone's horror, some kind of energy field projected from the Devourer's mouth, swallowing the trio, who vanished along with the light.

"No!" Perseus yelled. "You son of a bitch!"

"Great," the Devourer mumbled. "This body is so damn unstable. And with that stupid voracious essence inside me, everything is so goddamned unpredictable."

"Give them back!"

"Hmm? Sorry, I can't do that. The damn gateway opened up again."

"What gateway? What the hell are you going on about? Give us our friends back!"

"I already told you. I can't open the gateway whenever I want to. It just happens from time to time. And I was so hungry, too. I hate this stupid essence. Why the hell did I have to get stuck with Gluttony?"

Yuan looked around at his teammates. Every single one of them, especially Penny, had rage slowly boiling to the surface. He might have been the only one who picked up on this man's words.

 _Gluttony?_ he thought, ruminating on what he had said. "Tell me," Yuan said, stepping forward. "What do you mean by getting 'stuck with Gluttony'?"

"I said that out loud, did I?" he said. "My mistake. Anyway, we should probably finish this."

He vanished, but this time Penny was able to track him and she engaged him in a sword fight.

"He can pull swords out of his body the way the Omega Grimm do," Xanthus said.

"At least you're still calm," Yuan said.

"Only so much." He balled his fists. "That was my leader that was consumed. And our archer. And an innocent life. And yet, I can do nothing but watch as our instructor engages this thing in battle."

Yuan watched the movements of both superpowers. The animalistic ferocity that the Devourer once had was gone. He fought with deliberate movements, the desire to eat no longer the one thing dominating his mindset. There was something odd about that. It was as though he had switched personalities in the middle of their fight.

The Devourer's arm fell off and began to decay.

"The hell?" Perseus said.

"This body is nearing its limit," the Devourer mumbled. Only Ingrid's cat ears and Penny's augmented hearing picked up on it.

"What do you mean by that?" Ingrid said.

"Shit. I really need to keep my big mouth shut, especially with the Faunus on your team. Or maybe I'll just eat you first. The damn hunger is coming back. Come to me, kitty."

"Hell no."

"You'll have to get through me first," Yuan said, stepping forward.

"All of you, stay back," Penny said. "Leave him to me."

"I told you, I'm not interested in you," the Devourer said. "I can't even digest you properly."

"Says the guy who eats trees and rocks and grenades."

"Hmm. True. You do have a soul, in spite of what you are."

The others looked over at Penny.

"What does he mean by that?" Perseus mumbled.

"I wonder. Can I digest carbon nanotubes and electroactive polymers? It's so different from consuming talismans and gems. At least magical artifacts increase my power. Maybe eating you will increase my physical strength and make my bones tougher than iron."

"What in the world is he talking about?" Ingrid said.

"No matter!" the Devourer yelled before smashing both of his swords together and transforming them into a single, massive great axe. "I'm curious to see whether my teeth can grind down even steel as hard as your skeleton!"

Penny defended against the Devourer's onslaught. His agility was incredible, easily outmatching her own. Only one person she had ever faced in combat could rival this speed. That was Sir Bedivere of Kameloth.

Her scanners picked up something peculiar. The Grimm body she was fighting seemed to be containing something else, as if a soul were forced into it, but this thing she was detecting right now was no soul, at least not the kind she was used to. This thing was more similar to—

"A Wraith!" she gasped aloud.

"Hmm?" the man said. "No, no, I am no Wraith. Those things are weak and incomplete beings, unable to do anything without their Light halves. I am a being that is pure, untainted by anything else. You may refer to me as Moloch."

He landed a powerful hit, shattering Aequitas, the sword she held in her left hand.

"Penny-senpai!" Xanthus yelled before powering up his Semblance.

"I don't think so!" Moloch yelled before holding out a palm at the group. " _Hitzewelle_!"

The rest of the group was hit by a blast of hot air, hot enough to set fire to anything caught in its path for too long. They all scattered, Perseus and Xanthus jumping to one side while Yuan and Ingrid went in separate directions from each other.

"Yuan!" Ingrid yelled.

"I'm right over here," he said through the flames. "Where are Perseus and Xanthus?"

"We're over this way!" Perseus replied.

Meanwhile, Xanthus watched the intense battle between Penny and Moloch. Whatever this being was, he was incredibly powerful.

"That's it!" Moloch yelled. "I have you now! And you're quite beautiful, too. For a girl who's not real, that is!"

Penny grunted before swinging her sword as hard as she could, pushing him away before slashing at him again, but he was too quick and he managed to parry before countering, transforming his axe into a great sword before thrusting at her. She parried before somersaulting over him.

"Where did you send my pupils?" she demanded as she faced off with Moloch.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said. "Magic is a highly chaotic thing. Even such a powerful being as myself can have difficulty controlling a force that has the potential to alter the very fabric of space-time itself."

"I don't understand. You seem to be an ancient and powerful being, and yet you are familiar with scientific terms such as these. What exactly are you?"

"You are correct in your observation that I am very old and I suppose very powerful as well—I'm not one to brag—but I and my kin have been keeping informed of scientific advancements. After all, to fully master thaumaturgy, one must have a perfect understanding of the fundamental nature of the cosmic order. For instance, did you know that most who use Runic Magic are merely borrowing the power from another world?"

"What do you mean?"

He held up his hand, showing a rune on its back. "The Fire Rune permits its bearer to call upon powers that originate from a parallel world, a world of pure magic. Some call this place 'Avalon' while others refer to it as the Immaterial Realm. Its exact mirror side is called the World of Shadow by those who are weak of mind. I call that place _home_."

"But you're not a Wraith."

"Don't compare my kind with those worms!"

"Then, what are you?"

"I am a being of _pure_ magic. The only real problem we have is that we require vessels in order to walk within the material world. It's hardly a problem, of course. After all, we have the means to create artificial bodies for ourselves."

"Such as the Grimm."

He smirked. "So, you've pieced it together."

"From all the bits falling off of you, yeah."

He looked down at the ground. Just as Penny had said, chunks of his flesh were all over the ground. "Damn that idiot doctor and his cronies. It seems this body is still a long way from being perfect. I've pushed it too far. But no matter, I still—"

Penny shifted into a fighting stance as he lurched over.

"Damn it!" Moloch yelled. "No! You stay down there!"

"What the hell is going on?" Perseus said.

"It seems the other personality is resurfacing," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses.

"Damn you!" Moloch yelled. "You stupid, maniacal beast!"

His yelling shifted into gurgling before settling into animalistic panting.

"Hungry!" he said. "Hungry! I am hungry!"

"Are you Gluttony?" Penny asked him.

"I am hungry!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

She engaged the monster in another battle. Its attacks were much more ferocious than Moloch's, but also much less refined. Despite the power behind each hit, Penny was able to outmaneuver every single attempt.

"Hold still! I want to eat you!"

"Ugh," Penny grunted before stabbing it in the chest and somersaulting away.

"Ow! That hurts! You shouldn't play with dangerous things!"

The instant Penny landed, something grabbed her from behind. It was an Omega. Two of them.

"Hold her still for me!" Gluttony said. "I want to eat her!"

"Penny!" Perseus yelled before they ran to her aid, but they were stopped by their own Grimm, Alpha variants of Creeps and Beowolves and even Ursa Majors. None of them had any time to help their teacher, who struggled to break free of the hold that the Omegas had on her.

"Damn it," Penny grunted, panting as Gluttony stood in front of her.

"I wonder if you taste good," he said before an enormous tongue shot out of his mouth and licked her from head to toe and back up again.

"Gross," she muttered as his spit dripped all over her.

"What is this? You taste strange."

"So, you and Moloch really are separate beings inside a single vessel."

"Moloch? I hate that Daemon! He's mean!"

"Daemon?"

"Yes! He and Azazel and the others all tried to control—" He grunted before swapping personalities again.

"You fool! Shut up, Gluttony before you—"

"Moloch! Stop being such a meanie—"

"Damn you, stupid monster—"

"I'm no monster! I'm hungry!"

The others were stunned at the spectacle.

"Things just got officially weird," Ingrid said.

"You mean it wasn't weird before?" Perseus said with an ironic chuckle.

"Where are my students?" Penny demanded with a growl.

"Huh?" Gluttony said. "Oh, the three girls. They looked so tasty, but I couldn't eat them. They went to another place. I'm hungry now."

"Another place? What do you mean?"

"Another world, a dark place that reflects the hearts of man. There's nothing tasty there, though."

 _A Labyrinth?_ Penny thought. "Can you get them back?"

"Nope! It's another world!"

"So, there's really nothing you can do, huh?"

"Not one bit!"

"That's too bad. I guess there's no point in letting you live, then."

In a blur of color, Penny overpowered the two Omegas before going in for a punch right to Gluttony's chest, but to her horror, his torso opened up into a massive, gaping maw lined up and down with row upon row of teeth. She had no time to retract her punch. The jaw had her left arm all the way up, just inches shy of her shoulder. She may have been a machine, but pain was a real thing for her. She grunted and panted as she struggled to break free of the monster in front of her.

"Yay! I finally got you!" Gluttony said.

"Damn you," she grunted. "Just wait, when I get out of here, I'm gonna—"

Her words were cut short by the sensations and sounds of metal parts and artificial muscle fibers tearing apart. The next thing she knew, she was falling backwards, right into the arms of one of her students. It was Xanthus propping her up. Perseus, in his rage, had managed to stab one of the Omegas in the chest before beating the other to death with his bare fists, the most powerful his Semblance had ever manifested itself.

Yuan and Ingrid flanked Penny at either side, watching in horror as Gluttony chomped on her not-quite-human arm. Ingrid looked over at what was left of her limb. There were wires and other inorganic parts hanging out. A white-colored liquid dripped steadily from severed tubes.

"Penny, are you okay?" Xanthus said quietly.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I just, I think I'm, I might need—"

"It's okay, I've got you. Does your body have self-repairing capabilities?"

"To a limited extent. As long as I don't leak out all of my blood, I won't shut down."

"Your digestive system can turn organic matter into your blood, right?"

"Yes. But, still, I need..."

"Penny?"

"...Liam..."

"Penny!"

"Ugh, this taste," the Devourer said.

"It's Moloch again," Yuan said.

"Yes. That stupid monster just had to be stupid. I can't believe he actually tried to eat her. A machine of all things."

"You're one to talk," Xanthus said. "You tried to eat her, too."

"I was only messing around. I wasn't actually going to try and devour a goddamned robot."

"Robot?" Ingrid said.

"What? Your students don't know?"

Penny panted, glaring at the Daemon.

"The one holding you seems to know. Why wouldn't the rest of...ah, I see. It's your own way of deluding yourself into believing that you're one of them, that you're somehow human."

"She _is_ human!" Xanthus all but yelled. "It doesn't matter what vessel contains her soul! She is just as human as any of us! Maybe even more so. She cares for people more than most!"

"Xanthus..." she managed.

"You, on the other hand, are quite decidedly _not_ human!"

"Well, you've got spunk, kid," Moloch said. "I think I will definitely enjoy eating your flesh and devouring your soul. I know for sure I will begin with your heart. It must taste exquisite with all that courage seeping from your pores—"

He was interrupted by a powerful punch in the jaw that sent him reeling.

"What!" he said, standing upright to face Perseus, whose face was painted with determination and fury unrivaled.

"You're gonna have to get through me," Perseus growled, unflinching.

"Without your sword or your shield?" Moloch scoffed. "Don't make me giggle—"

Another heavy punch to the face sent him flying back.

"Okay, that's enough!" he yelled. "I will devour you _all_!"


	15. Night

CHAPTER XV

_Night_

 

Athena braced herself as she shielded both Echo and Nerida with her body, but the pain of being devoured never came. She opened her eyes, looking all around at a darkened landscape. She looked to her companions, but neither were there.

"Echo!" she yelled. "Nerida!"

She was going to continue calling out for them when she realized it was probably a bad idea to go around screaming when she had no clue what was out there in this decrepit world. The forest they had been in was gone, replaced by a decayed suburb, the cracked streets beneath her showing pure darkness beyond.

"What the hell is going on?" she muttered before walking down the street, her guard up, Aegis and Pallas ready to defend and strike at a moment's notice. There was something up ahead and she took cover behind a rusted dumpster, peeking around to spy on it.

The creature before her was humanoid in appearance, but there was something wrong with it. Its face was disfigured with stitches and flaps of skin pulled over one eye while the other eye bulged out of the socket, twitching around furiously. Its lips were pulled back by wire, exposing rows of human molars. Two tiny holes sat where its nose should have been. Its ears were not visible to the human gaze, obscured by some manner of headgear with screws and other sharp instruments driven into it.

The rest of its body was similarly grotesque in appearance, the skin melting off endlessly from holes where the muscles and internal fasciae peered through. Tiny eyes were located at some of these locations while others had teeth despite there being no discernable mouth, ears, or noses.

 _What in the fucking hell is that thing?_ Athena thought, her eyes wide with horror.

Unsure of the creature's capabilities or even its very nature, Athena decided not to engage, instead waiting until it was out of sight. She kept her head on a swivel, making sure that nothing else was around her before continuing on in search of her companions, although she had absolutely no idea where to start.

 

* * * * *

 

Nerida clutched herself as she shivered. It wasn't cold in this new and dark world, though she thought perhaps it should have been. After all, the darkness obscured everything beyond fifteen meters ahead of her. It was as though the very shadows ate away at any light here.

How long had it been since she was separated from Athena and Echo? Hours? Days, maybe? It could have easily been a week since she had begun wandering the broken streets of this derelict town. Oddly enough, it seemed she needed no sustenance. Her body just kept on going, even though her feet had already gone past the point of ache and into numbness.

No, it wasn't her feet that were numb. It was her very soul.

There was a sound to her right and she froze, gripping her spear tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. There was another one of those things, those unholy looking creatures with forms so tortured that it hurt just to behold them. Nerida took cover behind a small hedge, peeking over just enough to see the thing cross in front of her by mere inches.

Her entire body went stiff and she held her breath. It was so close that she could smell the putrid flesh dripping from its body, sizzling as it hit the black pavement below. Its breathing was erratic and labored. Upon looking up to its face, Nerida realized that there was no way this thing could see her. Its eyes were replaced by foot-long stakes driven into its skull. Its ears, however, were replaced by what looked like trumpets. There was no doubt that any sound would attract its attention.

The thing stopped, standing perfectly still. Nerida, too, held everything together, but she was afraid that this monster would be able to hear her heart pounding in her chest. It turned to her and she prepared herself to fight. It took a step in her direction. And another. It was only inches from the tip of her spear, but she was frozen, unable to deliver the thrust to end its life.

It turned in another direction, putting some distance between itself and her. Nerida's whole body was like ice as she watched it disappear into the darkness. Nevertheless, her guard was up, her senses sharper than they had ever been in her life as she continued to creep down the street in search of her companions.

 

* * * * *

 

Echo panted as she continued to run. It felt as though days had gone by since the last time she saw anyone, but now she was surrounded. Behind her were dozens of those unsightly things, things that could never be called people. They screamed for her with tormented cries, some even sounding almost pitiable, but the one thing going through Echo's mind right now was undeniable terror. She had managed to sink an arrow into the head of one of the monsters, but that did nothing to stop its slow advance toward her, a march that gradually increased in speed until she found herself sprinting from more of those things than she could handle.

The seasoned hunter found herself inside a rotting house, cowering feebly just past a door. Most of the creatures continued on down the street, but a handful of them followed her in, stalking the halls and rooms in search of their prey. She grabbed onto her hand to stop it from trembling, but both hands quaked violently. She could face Grimm without a problem, even the most terrifying Grimm such as the Omegas, the Skinwalkers, and even the Specters, but these were nothing like those. Only one type of Grimm came close to the absolute dread these things drove into her heart, and that was the Nuckelavee Grimm she had seen in a textbook.

Even still, these ghastly beings far and away surpassed anything the Grimm had to throw at them. For all she knew, these monsters might be as fragile as any human target, but fear alone was a powerful weapon and it was quite effective right now.

Her Semblance was all but useless to her. The instant she found herself in this blackened world, her Semblance went into a state that she had never experienced in her life. Until this point in time, it was always no more than a gut feeling, reaching panic only with imminent danger, but now the danger sensation manifested itself into a loud whining in her head. Covering her ears did nothing to mute the sound. It was both disorienting and horrifying at once, knowing that the threat to her now was greater than it had ever been.

"Hey!"

That voice. She hadn't heard it in far too long.

"Over here, you ugly sons of bitches!"

The sounds of death filled the air before silence fell upon the building. Confident footsteps approached, yet Echo's guard was up like never before. Her savior stopped at the doorway, glancing around.

"Echo! Are you here?"

"A...Athena?" Echo managed.

"Good, you're all right," Athena sighed with relief. "You're not hurt, are you?"

She shook her head.

"Okay, let's get out of here and figure out a way to get back to the real world."

Echo silently followed her companion out of the house, sticking to walls and other large objects to use as concealment. The crowd of monsters had since left them behind and they found themselves on their own. After a few minutes of wandering around, she took Athena by the wrist, stopping her.

"What's the matter?"

"I just..." Echo began, "...I wanna be sure we find Nerida first."

"Yeah. Of course."

They went around for what felt like hours, searching every place they came across, but there was something terribly off about this world they wandered through. Things that Echo swore were in the vicinity would no longer be there upon second glance. Hallways would seemingly lengthen or shorten when she wasn't paying attention. Doors and windows would also shift around ever so slightly.

"My head hurts," Echo mumbled.

"Wanna take a break?" Athena asked her.

"Yeah, sure."

"When's the last time you ate or drank anything?"

She thought about her answer. "Since the village..." she hesitated, thinking about how long ago that actually was. "That was..."

"Days ago. I think."

"Has it been that long?"

Athena leaned back against a wall. "I don't know. Whatever this place is, I think time is mostly fucked up. Space, too."

"You've been seeing all that, too?"

She nodded. "I swear that door over there was closer than it is now."

Echo shivered before leaning against the same wall beside her partner, letting herself slide down to the floor. Athena also slid down, wrapping an arm around her to hold her close.

"We'll find her," she said to Echo. "I swear it. We're not leaving this place without her."

"Thanks," Echo replied. But in truth, she was just as terrified by the prospect of finding Nerida. After all, it meant facing herself.

But there was no time to dwell on these thoughts, for in the next instant they found themselves besieged by those unsightly horrors of this world once more. Doors and windows shattered and tore open, allowing those creatures of the night to pour in like a wave of terror incarnate, childhood nightmares animated by this hellish world. The two girls fought for a time against the onslaught, but the tactics that would allow them to routinely decimate the Grimm were utterly useless in the face of these monsters from another world.

"How the hell did they even find us?" Athena yelled as she kicked a door open, leading the way out of the building.

Echo fired arrow after arrow at the pursuing monsters, but their numbers were too great and her quivers were growing light. Nevertheless, she continued to press onward with her partner, transforming Sentinel into its staff form to fend off against their enemies.

A scream from her side made Echo's blood run cold. She turned to Athena, from whose torso protruded some sharp thing. It looked like a giant bone, but sharpened to weapon grade. It was like that first encounter against the Omega Grimm all over again, only this time Penny wasn't here to save them. Echo had to carry them both.

"Get away from her!" Echo demanded as she fired arrow after arrow, sending enough into the head of one of the monsters to down it for good. She cradled a badly bleeding Athena in her arms, barely holding back tears.

"Fuck, I really fucked up there, didn't I?" Athena coughed.

"Shh," Echo said. "Save your strength."

"I dunno if our first aid kit's gonna cut it, Echo. I'm...well, look at me."

Echo's teeth were gritted, hands balled into fists of iron, iron like the will coursing through her veins now. She stood up, putting herself between Athena and the ghastly monsters. She readied Sentinel, reaching into her quiver for an arrow, but there were no more left, something she failed to notice entirely as she nocked the nonexistent arrow into her bowstring and drew it back.

"I won't let you," she growled. "You won't lay a hand on her!"

A bright light began to glow where the arrow should have been, forming itself into a lance of pure energy, which she unleashed at her enemies. The beam of light carved a path through the darkness, completely obliterating every single object in its path and tearing apart those that were just a bit too close to the light.

Echo gawked at the devastation caused by her arrow. She looked at her hand, then her bow, and then her empty quiver. Nothing in her arsenal was capable of such immense destruction, and yet just now she had unleashed a power she had never seen before.

Athena's cough snapped her out of her reverie and she was squatting by her side in an instant, dropping Sentinel close by as she held her partner tightly.

"Don't leave me," Echo whispered as she cradled her head.

"You've gotta be joking," Athena said with a snicker. "This is just...a scratch. I've been through worse."

But that was a lie. Echo could feel the life leaving Athena's body and she squeezed her eyes shut, pushing out tears.

"Hey," Athena managed. "You know I love you, right?"

The tears came out full force now. "You can't die, Athena," she sobbed. "Not in a place like this."

"I'm sorry, Echo," Athena said, reaching up to touch her partner one last time. "I was actually hoping I'd be the one to have you. But you're gonna have to find Nerida. She wins after all."

There were no more words for Echo to say. She was completely helpless to save someone she loved. She had sworn to protect her, and yet she failed at her life's mission. As the reality of it set in, she began to cry louder without any regard for her own safety. As far as she was concerned, those damned things could come after her. After all, what more did she have left without Athena?

 

* * * * *

 

Athena looked to the distance as a brilliant explosion of light blanketed the sky.

"Holy shit," she muttered. "Who's setting off fireworks?"

"Those are some pretty serious fireworks," Nerida said. "Too bad Echo doesn't have any arrows that do that, huh?"

Echo shrugged.

"Then again, it might be more dangerous to have a quiver full of nukes."

"Nah," Athena said with a yawn. "That would be friggin' awesome."

"Heads up!" Nerida yelled. "There's more on the way!"

"I'll handle these assholes," Athena said. "You two, cover my back."

"Roger!"

The three girls fought long and hard against the waves of unsightly horrors. One of the monsters' tentacles managed to land a hit on Athena's arm, but other than that, she was fine.

"Shit, that burns," she said.

"Looks like acid," Nerida said, checking her wound. "Here, let's dress it up."

Athena made eye contact with Echo as Nerida wrapped up her arm. They exchanged brief smiles, but the smiles were instantly wiped out when something burst forth from Echo's chest, spraying blood everywhere.

"Echo!" Athena cried out before engaging the thing that had snuck up on them. She stabbed it several times before pulling its head off with her bare hands. She turned to Echo, whose breathing was erratic as Nerida tried feebly to keep her alive.

This was the second time Athena had to watch Echo die. The first time was a nightmare, but when she rejoined her side minutes later, she figured the whole thing must have been some sort of illusion. The problem was that the two before her now were too real to be mere illusions. She could feel both Nerida and Echo when they touched. That bandage Echo had put over her cut hours ago was also real.

"Echo?" Nerida's faint voice reached Athena's ears.

The Golden Girl of Vale gripped her spear tightly before going on a rampage through the hordes of monsters, all the while screaming with rage. She was knee deep in corpses and blood when fatigue caught up to her. One of the freakish monsters was nearing her, but she failed to lift up either spear or shield to defend against it. Perhaps part of her wished to die, but she would not have that luxury today. An arrow soared through the darkness, impaling the creature in the eye and felling it in a single hit.

Athena turned to face Echo, who was standing next to Nerida, both weapons ready for battle.

"Are you okay?" Echo said, her voice only barely registering.

Nerida was shouting at her. At least that's what she figured from the intensity on her face. Her companion threw her spear, just barely missing Athena's head and impaling a monster behind her. Snapping back to her senses, Athena turned around, swiftly decapitating the creature and returning Nerida's spear to her.

"There's more on the way!" Nerida yelled. "We have to keep moving!"

Athena gave an empty nod before acquiescing.

 

* * * * *

 

Twenty.

That was the number.

Echo had watched both Athena and Nerida die twenty times now. Or perhaps the number was greater. She had lost count after three. The first handful were torturous, but the rest afterward were beyond excruciating. With each death she watched, a piece of her soul was torn out as well.

She fell to her knees as more of those unsightly things began to circle her. She wanted out. This had to be a nightmare, but things were far too real to be a mere dream. Athena and Nerida were real. They really were alive, and they really did die all of those times.

She put both hands to her face, but no tears would fall. She had cried the last of them hours ago. Or was it days ago? She had lost track of time in this blackened world, lost track of herself, of everything she was, is, and hoped to be.

Hope.

There was no such thing in this place. The longer she spent here, the more convinced she was of the possibility that she had died and was now in Hell.

 

* * * * *

 

"God damn it!" Athena cried as she held Echo's lifeless and bloody body in her arms. "Why does this keep happening?"

It mattered not how many times she tried. Saving the love of her life was out of reach for Athena. And yet, as if to torment her for her sins, this place continued to revive her, only to subject Athena to her death over and over again.

She fell to the ground, curling up beside her partner's lifeless body. Nerida's corpse wasn't far off either, but she had been mangled beyond recognition by those horrible creatures.

"This isn't real," Athena repeated over and over again. "This isn't real. This _can't_ be real."

"Athena, are you okay?"

The voice made her entire body freeze. She looked over. Echo's corpse was gone. As was Nerida's. She turned to face her two companions alive and well, standing over her, having slaughtered all of the monsters that Athena wished would come for her.

"No, I'm not okay, Echo," Athena said.

"You have nothing to worry about anymore. I'm here now. And so is Nerida."

Athena wanted to believe that this time would be different, but by now, she was expecting to lose her yet again, an anticipation that came to fruition the moment a blade pierced her, protruding from her chest.

"Echo!" Athena cried out as she stood up.

"Huh?"

Athena was dumbfounded by the voice. It was one she hadn't heard in a long while, and yet there it was.

"Are you all right, Athena?"

"I-Ivory?" Athena managed. "Ivory Schnee?"

"The last time I checked, yes, that is still my name, even though your idiot brother forced me to dye my hair blonde...huh. We're both blonde now."

Athena continued to stare with suspicion at the individual standing before her. It certainly looked like Ivory, but then again Echo and Nerida looked like themselves as well.

"I must ask," Ivory began, "why were you just sitting there while those things were standing over you?"

Athena gave her a questioning look.

"Never mind. You must've been through a lot. How long have you been here?"

"I...I don't know."

"I see. It seems time in this place flows differently from the real world."

"What?"

"I believe we are in a Labyrinth."

A Labyrinth. That's what they suspected Lilly might be stuck in.

"I'm not entirely sure how we're going to get out of here, but we should be able to if my cousin is capable of entering and leaving as she pleases."

Athena looked at the ground.

"What's the matter?" Ivory asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. C'mon, let's get moving."

Athena led the way, trying her best to resist the pull of gravity. She felt heavier than normal, though that weight was likely coming from her soul.

"So," Athena began as they marched along the broken streets together. "When did you get in this place?"

"I believe it's been a few hours since I was drawn into this world," she answered. "I was in the middle of having lunch with..." she hesitated. "It doesn't matter. I was having lunch and then suddenly I'm sitting in the middle of a restaurant without a soul in sight. What about you?"

Athena hesitated. "I can't tell how long I've been here."

"Hours? Days?"

She shrugged. "Months, maybe."

"How is that possible?"

"You tell me."

"Hmm. There can be two possibilities. Either time definitely flows erratically here or the mind's perception of the passage of time is distorted."

"Have you...seen people?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, people you know in the real world. Have you seen any?"

"As in friends? Family?"

Athena nodded.

"I can't say I have, although that might be more unsettling to know that people I care about are also stuck in an infernal place such as this. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I was just curious."

"Have you seen anyone of the sort?"

Athena shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I got pulled into this world with Echo and another friend, Nerida, but I haven't run into either of them since it happened."

"Hmm. This must be the fate of all of those missing persons. The ones who have disappeared without a trace."

The thought was more than disconcerting. If this was also Lilly's fate, just what did this world have in store for them?

"Come," Ivory said. "Let us continue to search for your companion—"

Athena couldn't believe her eyes. Just like that, Ivory vanished before her, as if she had been instantly erased from time and space. It didn't take long for her to lose her composure once more.

 

* * * * *

 

_Echo!_

"No! No more!"

_Echo, it's me!_

"Stay away from me!"

 _Hey, get up!_ "Wake up, Echo! You're having a nightmare!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Dammit, Echo, would you snap out of it!"

Echo continued to fight back, unwilling to play by this world's rules any longer. She refused to watch Athena or Nerida die over and over again.

"I knew it. Don't worry, Echo, I'll undo this curse."

_Curse?_

"O, Holy Rune, grant my wish to undo this curse upon Echo Atalante, extend upon her thy _Blessed Hand_!"

Echo looked all around in a panic as the ground beneath her was covered in glowing light in the form of a circle with other geometric shapes and unfamiliar lettering.

_Is that...a rune?_

"Echo, are you okay?"

She looked up at her savior. It was a face she had not seen in far too long.

"Echo!"

"Lilly...?"

"I'm glad you're okay!"

"What was...what was that?"

"Oh, you mean the rune magic? It was a spell of the Holy Rune, called _Blessed Hand_. It allows me to lift any curse from a single person. There are limitations, of course, like I can't undo super curses and stuff but I can undo really basic curses like whatever the heck this place was doing to you what exactly happened anyway and where is everyone else is it just you here or—"

"Hey!"

"Crap. Sorry!"

Echo managed to giggle. It seemed she hadn't done so in ages.

"Are you okay now?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen...Athena, or Nerida, in a long time. At least, I don't think so."

"Are you talking about them?" Lilly said, pointing to the side.

Echo stood up. Their corpses were still there. A heavy dread came over her like a wave of death.

"What do you see there, Echo?"

"I see..." Echo began, only managing to keep from breaking down completely, "I see Athena...and Nerida..."

"So, it's not a curse after all. I thought so."

"What...?"

"I thought maybe you were under a curse. But now it's clear. You're under the influence of this place."

"Where are we?"

"A Labyrinth. You haven't seen the real Athena or the real...Nerida? You haven't seen them because you're stuck in your own Labyrinth."

She raised an eyebrow.

"It's, uh, it's hard to explain, but let's just say that this world is a physical representation of your innermost fears, desires, guilt, everything."

"But...why does the world look like this?"

"In your case, you haven't descended into such a state of trauma that you'd have a super unique Labyrinth just yet. This is how the, I guess _general_ Labyrinths look. On the one level, you have a world that looks no different from the real world. A level below that is a world almost identical to the real world, but it's mostly obscured with fog or ash or whatever might be a better symbol for whoever is perceiving that particular Labyrinth layer. At the third level, you have this, what we're in right now. The more intense those deep fears and desires and guilt, the deeper you descend into the Labyrinth."

"What's below this level?"

"The deepest Labyrinth level I've seen so far is a complete distortion of reality. The craziest I've walked through was a...painting. As in, I was a painting walking through a painting."

Echo was dumbfounded.

"Yeah. There's no way for me to describe the experience. You'd have to go through it yourself. Anyway, you're lucky you're only in the third level and not the fourth. You still have power over all this."

She scoffed at the word she chose. "Lucky, huh?"

Lilly nodded furiously. "I don't even know what your true Labyrinth would look like. This here is a cakewalk."

Echo took a seat on an armchair to try and let it all sink in, but it was a lot to digest, especially when the only thing she could think about was the bodies lying in the corner of—

"Huh?" she said. "Where did they go?"

"You mean the bodies?" Lilly said.

"Yeah, where are they?"

"That's good. You're not seeing them anymore. Which means we've probably gone up a layer."

"What?"

"Look outside. The sun's out. When's the last time you saw light?"

Echo hurried to a window. Lilly was right. There was light out, but the world was still blurred by a cold fog.

"Athena and your other friend are out there somewhere," Lilly said. "I can feel them."

"You mean, the same way my Semblance allows me to?"

"Well, yeah and no. I've sorta...picked up a few things since we last saw each other at the Vytal Festival."

"Is this what you've been doing all this time?"

She was quiet for a bit. "Let's focus on finding Athena first, yeah?"

Echo nodded, following her out of the building into foggy streets. There were a few monsters here and there, but they weren't as grotesque as they used to be. They were also far less aggressive, choosing to keep their distance and only attacking when they came too close.

"You've gotten a lot better," Echo said, watching as Lilly put two of them down without even so much as a sweat.

"Yeah, well, I've been at this for a while," she said. "Hey, I gotta ask you since..."

Echo waited for the rest of her sentence, but when she didn't continue, she raised an eyebrow.

"This is gonna sound really weird to you, but do you remember the first time we ran into each other in a Labyrinth?"

That was something Echo wasn't expecting. "I, uh, this is the first time I've seen you since the Vytal Festival."

"I thought so."

"Wait, this _isn't_ the first time we've met?"

Lilly shook her head. "This is our fourth meeting, if I kept track correctly."

"W-What?"

"I had a feeling this was the case. Time doesn't run here the way it does outside. It gets worse the deeper you get in the Labyrinth layers."

"I don't think I'm following you."

"It's...we'll talk about when we're in the real world. It's a little complicated. C'mon, we have to look for the others."

As Echo followed after her old friend, she could not help but notice the difference in her, particularly in her clothing. This must have been the first time she had ever seen Lilly wear black. Furthermore, she could have sworn that Lilly actually said a curse word earlier.

 

* * * * *

 

Nerida curled up into herself as she sat against a wall. Unlike the gruesome Labyrinths of Athena and Echo, Nerida's wasn't quite as directly tormenting. Rather than dealing with manifestations of her inner demons, Nerida had a full view of what both Athena and Echo each dealt with in their own Labyrinths. To see Echo dying over and over again while a facsimile of her own self was unable to save her was heartbreaking, but it was Athena's slow descent into madness that drove the final nails into the coffin.

No, it wasn't that.

The true torment came from her observation of Echo's Labyrinth. It didn't take long for Nerida to conclude that this place was a place that brought one's inner desires, guilt, pain, regrets, fears—everything—to life. Watching Echo's own nightmare drove into Nerida's heart the realization that she indeed was losing the girl she loved. Although both she and Athena had exact duplicates who would die in Echo's nightmare, Athena's deaths were far more frequent and more heart wrenching for Echo.

_I don't have as big a place in her heart anymore. I mean, it's not like I can blame her. I was dead to her. But Athena's alive, and real, and she's now. I am then._

The nightmare for Nerida wasn't to watch the girl she loved die over and over again. The nightmare was being forced to watch as she slowly slipped away.

 

* * * * *

 

"She's close," Lilly said. "There's also something guarding the way."

"Is it getting darker?" Echo said.

"Yeah. We're descending into the third layer again."

"Wait. I'm...picking up something."

"Is it your Semblance?"

"Yeah. It's...I can't explain it. Remember how I said that it basically alerts me to incoming danger?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, the sensation also extends to other people. The closer the bond I have with them, the more intense the feeling."

"And you're feeling that now?"

"I mean, ever since I found myself in this place, my Semblance has been going nutso. Like, it's like I've had this ringing in my head for...well, forever. Like a loud whine."

"But this one in particular is sticking out to you?"

Echo nodded. "I'm pretty sure it's Nerida."

"Okay, I'll follow you, then."

The further they marched, the darker the skies grew until the white fog was replaced by pitch blackness once again, the streets and buildings around them decaying right before their eyes.

"This isn't the first time you've dealt with this crap?" Echo said, gawking at the otherworldly phenomenon.

"Just another day on the job," Lilly said with a sigh. "Okay, this layer has a lot more monsters than the second layer, although you probably already know that."

"Yeah, I do."

"You're out of arrows, though."

"It's okay. I did a bit of training with Ingrid with Sentinel in staff form."

"Super."

It didn't take long before they came upon a large group of those unsightly horrors.

"A pack this big usually means we're getting closer to the center of this particular Labyrinth," Lilly said. "Meaning we're close to Nerida."

Echo nodded.

"Leave these bastards to me."

She watched as Lilly vanished, moving with speeds faster than the human eye could pick up. Her jaw dropped as her companion swung Myrtenaster with purpose, stabbing and slashing one monster after another before they were all slain.

"There," Lilly said before sheathing her weapon. "All done."

"She's..." Echo began, pointing at a dilapidated house, "...she's in there."

Without another word, Lilly led the way, slaughtering one monster after another before they finally came upon a dejected girl who looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"N...Nerida?" Echo managed.

Nerida looked up at her, but staring into her childhood sweetheart's beautiful pale green eyes was heartrending after all she had witnessed.

"Are you okay?" Echo said.

"Funny," Nerida sniffled as she stood up. "I was going to ask you the same question." She neglected to elaborate on the meaning behind her words.

Echo gave her childhood friend a tight embrace, trying to dispel from her mind the countless times she had witnessed her perish along with Athena. It was good to have her in her arms again, but it was impossible to get out of her mind the possibility that this might be yet another manifestation created by this wretched place.

"Let's go find Athena," Nerida said before turning to the unfamiliar face.

"This is Lilly," Echo said. "Lilly, this is Nerida. We grew up together."

"Oh, so you're the one who was named after my favorite flower!" Lilly said with a bright smile, one that overwhelmed Nerida, who was still reeling from the revelations this place forced upon her.

"Y-Yeah, I guess," Nerida said.

"Echo's told me lots about you, you know. But, well, you're _alive_."

"Yeah. Long story. We can talk about it when we get out of here."

"Sure!"

"Echo's told me a ton about you, too. You've supposedly been missing for the past few months?"

"Well, that's a long story, too."

"Right. Let's go find Athena before something really bad happens to her..."

All three looked out the window as the darkness receded, replaced by a foggy world instead.

"What's happening?" Nerida said.

"Looks like you're getting out of your third layer Labyrinth," Lilly said. "I'll explain it along the way."

 

* * * * *

 

Athena was lying on her side, curled up into a ball as she looked over at Echo's lifeless body. She had stabbed her with Pallas, unable to deal with yet another fake Echo, but when the body remained and no more manifestations appeared, the realization dawned on her that perhaps this one was the real Echo and she had made a grave mistake. And yet, she had no more tears to shed, only letting out light sobs as she stared at the dead body of the girl she loved.

When Echo's voice started to intrude on her tumultuous thoughts, she put her hands to her ears to try and block it out, but it wouldn't go away. Her voice became so loud as to pierce right through her eardrums directly into her brain, even jarring her entire body.

No, it wasn't just Echo's voice. Her body was really shaking. Someone was gripping her tightly in an attempt to jolt her out of her nightmare. She opened her eyes to look into Echo's pale green hazels, only to scream at her before swinging her fists. Echo barely managed to dodge the attack, but Athena kept at it, even using her ferromagnetism Semblance to call her spear back to her.

"Athena, stop!"

Athena turned to the new voice as steel clashed against steel. The face before her was perplexing. It was one she hadn't seen in far too long. Those soft, brownish hazel eyes were unmistakable. That long, flowing, snow-white hair was a sight she had longed to see for these past months. The combination of the two could only be found in one person in all of Remnant.

"L...Lilly?" Athena muttered.

"Oh, good, you recognize me," she said. "Shit, I thought you were gonna skewer Echo over there."

"E...Echo?" Athena said, turning to her partner.

Echo was clutching her hands to her chest, her eyes also showing disbelief, relief, and agony all at once.

"Is it...is it really...?"

Echo gave her a nod before lunging at her and locking her in the tightest embrace she could possibly give.

"I thought I'd lost you," Echo whispered.

Athena slowly returned the embrace. "I think, for a while there, we did lose each other."

Lilly turned over to Nerida, who kept her distance. It didn't take much to see the obvious love triangle here. After all, if this was the same Nerida Echo had talked about in the past—which she clearly was—this was her childhood sweetheart, and yet the hug she gave Athena was much more heartfelt than the one she had given Nerida not even an hour earlier.

Their embrace lasted long, but not long enough. Echo didn't want to let her go, not now, not ever. It simply hurt too much. She would rather die a million deaths than to lose her again. And then, finally, the darkness receded for Athena, giving way to the foggy second Labyrinth layer.

"What's happening?" Athena said.

"I'll explain later," Lilly said. "There's a lot of Corrupted coming our way."

"Corrupted?"

"Is that what you call the monsters?" Echo asked her.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "I'm guessing they don't like that you guys have broken out of your Labyrinths."

Athena picked up Aegis, looking it over for a bit. "I have a lot of pent up aggression I need to get out," she mumbled. "I'm fighting with you."

"I didn't expect any less," Lilly said with a smirk.

"Hey, what's with the black clothing?"

"What? It helps me hide in the dark."

"Huh. I never thought you'd ever wear black in your life."

Lilly led the way out. "We all go through our changes, Athena Rose."

For a moment there, Athena could have sworn that their companion's eyes had taken on a different color, golden instead of hazel, but not amber-yellow like Ingrid's eyes. It was as though they were glowing with their own light.

Fighting through the Corrupted was no problem with the four of them together, but things became more complicated when the largest monster they had ever seen started marching at them from the distance.

"What the hell is that thing?" Nerida yelled.

"That's as big as a building!" Echo said.

"Yeah, a fucking _office_ building!" Athena said.

"Okay, this is where you guys get off," Lilly said, catching everyone's attention. "It was good to see you again, but you need to get out of here before the Daemons begin attacking. That ogre is just their herald."

"Ogre?" Athena said.

"Yeah. No time to explain. I'll tell you everything when we see each other again. For now, you need to leave." She held out a hand at the trio before chanting something in another language.

"What's going on?" Nerida said as a dark indigo rune appeared on the ground beneath them.

"Wait!" Athena yelled. "Lilly!"

"I'll see you guys when it's time, okay?" she said.

"You can't face that thing on your own!"

Lilly smirked. "You're right. But I'm not alone."

The instant before they were bathed in a blinding white light, Athena saw the same thing for sure this time. Lilly's hazel eyes had transformed into glowing gold, the change accompanied by what appeared to be an explosion of shadow from her feet, extending upwards before enveloping her whole body in blackness.


	16. The Hardest Thing About Hello

CHAPTER XVI

_The Hardest Thing About Hello_

 

"You maggot!" Moloch yelled as he and Perseus continued their fistfight. "Stop resisting and become one with my flesh!"

"Go fuck yourself," Perseus said before delivering another powerful blow to his head, sending him flying into a tree, which broke into splinters.

"I am going to tear you limb from—" Moloch's words were cut short as he coughed out some kind of black flesh and liquid. "Damn. This body's already falling apart. Damn you, Watts! When I get back to my original form, I'm going to—" He retched out another mound of organic matter.

"Xanthus, it's all you, buddy," Perseus said to his partner.

Xanthus nodded before handing Penny off to Ingrid. He drew his Sword of Chaos, the weapon infused with Fire Dust. He called on the full power of his Semblance, flooding his sword with the entirety of his aura. His left eye also glowed, overflowing with the power that now swirled around his body.

"Now," he said, holding his weapon up high. "Sword of Chaos! Vanquish this evil from this world! _Flames of Chaos_!"

Moloch snarled as the enormous wave of fire completely consumed his body, taking with it a sizeable chunk of the surrounding forest. When the flames subsided, there was nothing left but ash and three oddly familiar girls.

"Wait, what?" Ingrid said.

"Athena?" Perseus said in disbelief before running toward them. "Athena! Echo! You're all right!"

"Hey," Yuan said to Xanthus. "Did your attack just tear a hole in space-time?"

"It's not supposed to have that property," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "It's supposed to be purely fire."

"Thank the gods," Penny managed. "Are you three okay?"

"Penny?" Athena said as she, Echo, and Nerida gawked at what was left of her arm.

"Wh-What happened to you?" Echo said.

"That bastard," she began, "bit my arm off."

"But," Nerida began, "your arm, it's..."

"In need of repair," Xanthus said. "Fortunately, I've done some work with my father on robotics technology. He does work for Hillphire Innovations now."

The three girls shared a glance. None of them would have ever expected this revelation. It was amazing that Penny was able to keep from them the fact that she was a machine all this time.

"The bleeding's stopped," Penny said. "At least that problem's solved. Thank goodness for those micro-bot upgrades."

"Let's get back to the village," Xanthus said. "There should be enough stuff there for me to patch you up."

 

* * * * *

 

It was well past nightfall when Nerida left the medical hut, where Penny was resting. Xanthus had operated successfully and managed to suture up everything that needed suturing. The bleeding had been stopped and the wound sealed up. She might be short a limb, but she would have to make do until she could get a suitable replacement from Hillphire Innovations.

"Nerida!" Joel said, running up to her.

She knelt down to return her little brother's embrace.

"They wouldn't let me see you!"

"I know," she chuckled. "We all had to rest for a bit."

They held one another tightly once more. With their parents gone, each other was all they had left. Nerida had vowed long ago that no harm would come to her younger brother. The only other family she had left were the Atalantes, their next door neighbors. Zenith and Indra may as well have been surrogate parents to them and Aspen and Brook were practically her brothers.

And Echo was her soul mate.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

She looked to the distance as Athena walked out of the medical hut, heading in another direction. The three girls had decided not to tell anyone about what they saw in that other world, the consensus being that they disappeared and then reappeared in an instant. It was easy to feign afterward that Moloch's defeat may have somehow released them.

Echo was next to leave the hut, going straight to her family's home, where her mother and father and brothers eagerly awaited her.

 _I'm losing you, aren't I?_ Nerida thought. _I only just got you back, and already I'm losing you._

 

* * * * *

 

"What's wrong, dear?" Zenith asked his only daughter.

"It's nothing," Echo lied through her teeth.

Only Indra was capable of intuiting what bothered her child. Echo had no need of saying it aloud, but her mother had deduced that it had to do with Nerida and Athena. Of course, she could not know the complete truth behind it all.

When she had discovered that Nerida was alive and well, Echo's heart had overflowed with joy despite the confusion that had plagued her, the pull from both her childhood love and the love she had developed for Athena. But the feeling in her heart now was even more painful. She and both of her loves had been hurled into a world that had tested their mettle to the breaking point, and in the midst of that crisis above all crises, Echo's heart pulled toward one of them more than to the other. She knew that this moment would come, that she would be forced to choose, but the choice surprised even her.

Rather, she denied that this would be her destiny all along. Somewhere in her heart, she hoped, in all futility, that she could choose both.

"May I be excused?" she said quietly.

Zenith and Indra exchanged glances.

"Go ahead, dear," her mother said.

 

* * * * *

 

Athena stood at the guard tower, looking up at the moon, which showed its broken side tonight. She let out a sigh. The battle they had faced was an intense one, that Labyrinth far more than they could ever prepare for, and yet, somehow, in spite of it all, they had triumphed.

 _No,_ she thought. _It wasn't our own strength that got us through. It was you, Lilly. It's because of you that we're alive. But, what was that I saw in you? Your eyes, they weren't your own. And that spirit, it was different somehow. And yet, it was still you. You still protected us, remembered us, loved us._

She turned around to face the village. She spotted Echo leaving her house and heading to Nerida's. Athena bit her lower lip, feeling a single tear roll down her cheek. Every fiber of her being wanted her to fly down there and sweep Echo up off her feet and steal her away, but she knew better than to do that.

_I have to let go. It's your call, Echo. No matter which way you choose tonight, I will always love you. I hope you know that._

She put her hands to her face before letting herself cry.

 

* * * * *

 

Nerida looked up as soft knocking came from the front door. She had just put Joel to bed and she was going to lie on the couch for a bit before going to sleep herself. Another knock came. She opened the front door to see Echo looking down at the ground, doing everything she could to avoid eye contact.

"Echo?" Nerida mumbled.

The sound of Nerida's voice made Echo's heart stop beating. She held her breath for a moment before letting it out slowly. She finally managed to look her childhood partner in the eye. Her waist-long, light brown hair was let down tonight, falling freely over her back. Echo fully absorbed every moment she spent staring into those eyes of light-brown hazel, the same color as Lilly's. She wanted to look into those eyes for the rest of time.

"Echo," Nerida sighed, motioning for her to enter. "We should talk."

The words made her stiffen as she stepped through the threshold, following Nerida to the living room couch. They both took a seat, a foot and a half of empty space separating them. The silence lasted forever, piercing every niche in the house, every crevice of their hearts. Nerida would be the one to break the stillness.

"Echo," she began, her voice starting to break. She cleared her throat to try and regain her composure. "You know I love you, don't you?"

Echo's eyes filled with tears. This wasn't what she was expecting to happen. No, never this. She wanted to say the words right back and make everything all right and they could spend the rest of their lives together forever and grow old together—

"But..."

That single word struck Echo's heart like a star falling from heaven.

"I am not going to be the one to force you to choose," Nerida said, resolute even as tears masked her entire face. "I know you love Athena, and I know she loves you back, just as much as I do." She shrugged. "Maybe more."

Echo's whole world was falling apart now. The earth was sky and the sky was earth. Ocean was everywhere, flooding all of everything, making it impossible to breathe.

"And so," Nerida said as the emotion built up even more, "I'm going to be the one to let you go." Her voice broke on the last word and there was no more controlling it. "I will always love you, Echo Atalante. Until the end of time, I will love you. There is no one else in the whole universe for me except you. But I refuse to get between you and Athena. You two, you have something that I can't share with you. And no, it's not as simple as being Beacon Academy students or Huntresses in training or combat partners...it's a lot deeper than that. And I think you know this, too, Echo. Because your Semblance latched on to her a lot harder than it did to me."

That was it. That was exactly what Echo feared more than anything. Her heart yearned for both girls equally, but it was her Semblance that ultimately decided for her. The danger they all faced in that other world was equal, and yet her Semblance directed her to Athena over Nerida.

"Nerida," Echo managed through tears.

"Shh," Nerida said before closing the gap between them. "I told you, Echo, I love you, and I always will."

"I love you, too, Nerida. I always have. And I will forever."

"But that's not enough. You have a bigger destiny than to just be a village girl. You're tied to that girl, Lilly, and to Athena, and to the others. And you're gonna save the world. I'd die a thousand deaths before I got in the way of that."

"Nerida..."

Nerida gently held her face and neck, planting a final kiss on her lips as their tears flowed as one. They both leaned their foreheads against one another for a while. Echo wanted to taste those lips one more time, but she knew what that kiss meant. It was Nerida's final goodbye to her.

"Go to her," Nerida said. "Go to her, Echo."

"I..." she trailed off.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." That was a lie.

"I can't..."

"Yes, you can. Go and be with her. Don't make this any harder than it already is."

Echo turned away before returning to Nerida and giving her one final kiss goodbye, abruptly exiting the house, leaving behind a trail of tears. Nerida watched as the front door slowly clicked shut before she hurried to her bedroom, burying herself in her pillow before crying her heart out. These muffled cries would last all night and, perhaps, for all eternity.

 

* * * * *

 

Athena sensed a presence behind her and she turned around to face Echo, who was looking at the ground timidly.

"How did you find me?" she said.

"My Semblance," Echo replied timidly.

Athena didn't reply, expecting a final goodbye from her partner. Team LILY had already been broken up. Perhaps it was Team APEX's turn as well.

"Athena," Echo said, managing to make eye contact with her partner.

"What is it, Echo?" Athena said with as much neutrality as she could, but anyone with a keen ear would have picked up on the slight quaking in her voice.

Echo was going to give her a long speech, but she decided that actions spoke louder and she marched to her before planting a kiss on her lips, a kiss that had no end.

"Athena," Echo said, resting her head on her chest. "I love you. I love you so much."

"Echo," Athena said, holding her close. "I love you, too. But, what's going on? Are you okay?"

She shook her head. She was not okay. Definitely not okay. She was leaving her childhood sweetheart behind for the new love of her life. Oftentimes, destiny could be far too cruel.

Athena glanced over to Nerida's home. The lights were off. She looked back down at Echo, quickly deducing what had happened.

"Echo," she said as soothingly as she could manage. Even though she had won the battle of rival lovers, the fact that someone had to lose at all broke her heart. "Echo, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why?" Echo asked meekly.

"I can't even imagine what you're going through right now."

"No, it's okay. Nerida and I..." she sniffled, "...we sorted things out. And..."

Athena waited for the rest of her words.

"Athena?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it...is it okay? If I stay with you...forever?"

Athena smiled, stifling a tear as she held Echo at arm's length. "Yes."

Echo returned her partner's smile before leaning in for a deep, long kiss, one that united their souls as a single flame. Despite the heartache she had just endured, this kiss assured Echo that maybe, just maybe, she might be all right in the end.

 

* * * * *

 

Team APEX, Ingrid, Yuan, and Penny were up and about before dawn. The threat to the village had been completely neutralized and they were off to their next target, Mistral, where Penny would get the repairs she needed.

"Okay, we're all ready to head out, captain," Perseus said.

"Hey," Athena said to him. "I heard you kicked some serious ass while we were gone."

"You better fuckin' believe I did. And you shoulda seen Xanthus. He blew that asshole away with a big fire wave."

She bumped fists with him. "That's what I expected from my team."

"My little girl is all grown up," Zenith said as he and the rest of the family bid their farewells to Echo.

"Dad," Echo said, her voice muffled by his tunic. "I can't breathe again."

"Dear, you're going to suffocate her," Indra sighed.

"I can't help but hold my little girl so closely! It's not fair that you had the privilege of carrying her for nine months! I wish to bond with her as well!"

"I...can't...breathe..." Echo trailed off before Aspen and Brook rescued her from their father's clutches. "Thank you, jeez."

"Athena," Nerida said as she and Joel joined the group. "You take care of Echo, okay?"

"She takes care of me most of the time," Athena said.

"I thought as much. So, this is goodbye, huh?"

Without another word, Athena marched off to her before giving her a kiss.

"What the hell?" Nerida said, shock painting her face.

Athena shrugged. "Dunno. I just thought, hey, why not?"

"You and your brother _really are_ twins!" Ingrid yelled.

Athena turned her attention to their cat Faunus before grinning.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Athena, you stay away from me!"

Ingrid backed away as Athena slowly marched toward her, increasing her pace before it turned into a full-blown chase.

"It was an honor fighting alongside you," Xanthus said, shaking hands with Zenith, his sons, and Nerida.

" _We_ should be thanking _you_ , son," Zenith said. "You kids saved our village."

"It was muffin," Perseus said.

"Muffins?" Aspen said. "Where? _Where_?" Something soft flew into his face and he lost his balance momentarily before catching the object and looking at it. "A blueberry muffin!"

Echo, the culprit, sighed before zipping up her backpack and giving Nerida one final hug.

"I'll always love you," Nerida whispered into her ear.

"I'll always love you, too, Nerida," Echo whispered back.

"Now, hurry up. You've got some world-saving to do, don't you?"

"Don't worry, princess," Perseus said. "I'll save you, too."

"I'm not into guys, you dolt."

"It's okay. You can still be a princess."

Nerida rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky Athena's brother isn't here with us," Yuan said. "I'm pretty sure he still hasn't given up on Echo."

"Wow."

"Come back soon!" Joel waved goodbye as the party left the gates.

Echo smiled, waving back as the gates shut on them. She turned to the east. The sun was peeking over the horizon through the tree line.

"Okay," Perseus said. "I guess we're off to see the wizard?"

"Dr. William Hillphire is an engineer," Xanthus said.

"Can you take a joke, brah?"

"Oh. Sorry."

He chuckled.

"Hey," Athena said quietly to Echo.

"Hmm?" she replied, turning to her.

"I love you."

Echo's cheeks warmed up before she returned the same words to her, locking their fingers together. This was good. They had completed one adventure together, but the time for rest was still far off in the distance. Lilly was still in that other world. Somehow, some way, they needed to get her back.


	17. Fugitives

CHAPTER XVII

_Fugitives_

 

"So, that's it?" Leon said. "You're just letting us go?"

"Did you want to stay with us?" Xavier asked as they all disembarked the shuttle together.

"We have business to attend to with the Headmaster of Haven Academy," Ivory said. "Again, Mister Xavier, allow me to extend my gratitude."

"No need to be so formal, miss," he chuckled. "You have my business card. You pay well. If you need a hand, give me a ring."

"I'm assuming this is an untraceable line?"

He grinned. "What do you think of us? Amateurs?"

The pair watched as the group of seven disappeared into the growing crowd. Despite the unsettling air about them, they blended with the public quite easily, clearly a team experienced with wetwork. Leon turned to Ivory, admiring her golden-dyed hair, which fell just past her shoulders.

"What are you staring at?" she said without looking at him.

"Can't decide," he shrugged. "Is it an angel or a princess?"

She sighed heavily, closing her eyes.

"Huh? I'm talking about that girl over there. You didn't think I was referring to you, did you?"

She balled her fists and growled.

"Man, this city's bigger than I remember it. Things change in ten years."

She let out another sigh before turning to him. "Where is our first destination?"

"Let's head over to Haven Academy. I've got some old buddies who might be able to hook us up."

 

* * * * *

 

"Don't forget your coat! It's cold outside!"

"Yes, mom! C'mon, I'm eighteen years old already!"

Hollie ran to her son before squeezing him tightly.

"Mom...I can't...breathe..."

"I'm never gonna let you grow up, my little tiger cub!"

"We...are...lions..."

"Exactly!"

Astor straightened up his collar before turning to his mother. "Do you have to do that every single friggin' time I leave the house?"

"Of course! You're the only man left with your father gallivanting all around Remnant doing god knows what."

"What does he do anyway?"

"Oh, mostly Coalition work. He did say he's coming home soon, though."

"Oh, thank goodness. Maybe you'll leave me alone for once."

"Ohh, the things I'm gonna do to your dad when he gets back!"

Astor's face twisted in disgust. "Okay, I'm leaving now."

"Stay safe!"

He closed the door behind him, letting out a sigh as he left home and headed to Haven Academy. He contemplated jumping across the rooftops again, but after his last encounter with the cops, he decided to stick to the legal route. He stopped by a small coffee shop, buying two cups of hot cocoa before heading to his favorite flower stand.

"G'mornin' beautiful," he said to Hanako, the girl who sold flowers with her mom and aunt every morning. She giggled at him before leaning against the counter, accepting the cup of hot cocoa from him. "I'm thinkin' 'bout gettin' a little somethin' for someone."

"Oh, really?" she said, taking a sip.

"What could you suggest for me?"

"Is it a he or a she?"

"Definitely a she."

"She real special to you?"

"You could say that."

"Hmm. Well, roses are a little cliché. What about..."

"How 'bout this. What's your favorite flower? Out of all of these."

"Huh? Oh, that would have to be Amaryllis."

"What's that?"

She pulled a small vase from behind her and placed it on the counter. The flower was one of the largest and brightest Astor had ever seen. This one was red in color, but there were others on the same shelf that were of different colors, one of which was white in the center and surrounded by red around the rim.

"Hey, what about that one?" he said, pointing to the red and white one.

"Well, that one I'm gonna have to sell you as a whole," Hanako said. "There's only two flowers and I don't wanna cut them."

"That's fine. I'll take it."

"Sure thing!"

"And a white daisy while you're at it."

"Flower only?"

"Yup."

Astor watched as Hanako prepared both. He could never get tired of stopping by here every morning to have some hot cocoa with her before buying a flower for whoever he felt like getting one for at school. It had become such a routine that whenever he showed up for class without a flower, his classmates and instructors would ask questions.

"All set!" Hanako said, handing him the vase with two Amaryllis flowers and the single white daisy.

"Sweet," Astor said. "Hey, come closer for a bit, yeah?"

"Huh?" she said as she leaned in. "Why, what's up?" She reddened as he tucked the white daisy behind her ear.

"There. Looks so much better on you."

She giggled before waving to him as he set off for the academy, returning greetings left and right as he strode through the streets of Mistral. Finally, Haven Academy was in sight. Although, he wondered why he continued to attend since his entire team left him behind to become the first students at Menagerie's new Instinct Academy.

"The hell am I supposed to do without a team, anyway?" he said, looking up at the sky, which was starting to become overcast again. "One day of sunshine this winter, huh? We're not even that far north."

He was about to step through Haven Academy's gates when he spotted a young man who was oddly familiar, though his hair color wasn't quite the same. He was also missing his usual black and red attire.

"Leon?" he called out. "Is that you?"

"Oh, there he is," Leon said, quickening his pace. "Just the guy I was lookin' for!"

"The hell is this? Blonde hair? What the hell happened to the black hair and red tips?"

"Yeah, it looks weird, huh?"

"I dunno, man. You kinda look like your dad with that hair color!"

"I figured you'd say that."

"Hey, who's the beautiful blonde babe with you?" Astor said before looking past his old friend.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize her."

Astor took a second glance at her, staring for a time. "I know you. I definitely know you. But your hair is the wrong color and the wrong length and you're definitely dressed wrong, too."

"You are correct on all three points," Ivory said.

"No. No way. The princess?"

She sighed.

"My, my. I mean, you look great as a blondie. And the just-past-shoulder length? It's real chic. I never knew Ivory Schnee could rock the casual look. Oh, perfect timing, then. And perfect choice, too." He held out the vase of red and white Amaryllis flowers. "These are for you."

"What am I going to do with a vase?"

"I guess you could put it on your desk or something. I just thought, you know, pretty flowers for a pretty gal."

"If you're done screwing around, Astor Lyon, we're actually here on business."

"That's definitely the Schnee talking. So, what are you two here for?"

"We need your help," Leon said. "Well, to be more specific, we need to meet up with your mom."

"Why her?"

"Urgent state matters," Ivory said. "We need to meet with Headmaster Lyon immediately."

"Wait, what the hell is going on?"

"We should probably not talk about this out in the open," Leon said, glancing around. "I'm not completely sure, but my money's on us having a tail or two."

"I wish I could tell you that I had backup, but my team's all at Menagerie now," Astor said. "C'mon, though. I do know a few places that are secure. Also, you don't have to worry about my mom becoming a turncoat unlike that other asshole of a lion Faunus that used to lead this academy."

 

* * * * *

 

"So," Hollie began as Leon and Ivory relayed their story. "You're absolutely sure about what you heard?"

"Yup," Leon said. "Every word."

Hollie turned to Hillphire and Qrow.

"Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't tried to whack you already, Will," Qrow said to their old friend.

"That makes two of us," Hillphire said. "And not just Atlas either."

"Yeah. Old man Kronos is probably out for your blood, too. He's all friendly and shit on the outside, but we all know this whole business shit is cutthroat. I've sat in on enough meetings with you to know this firsthand."

"It's okay, though. My security is solid. After all, I provide the security for your wife and son as well."

"Yeah, and I appreciate that, old buddy."

Hillphire nodded.

"The problem remains, though," Hollie said. "They will attempt subterfuge with the Mistral Council. Bribery is a likely method."

"It seems there are more and more politicians for sale nowadays," Qrow said. He turned to Leon and Ivory. "But hey, I'm glad you two kids are safe. How the hell did you get out of Atlas anyway? It's not like you can just waltz through their security systems."

"We had a bit of help," Leon said. "You know the Reapers, right?"

"Wait, the Grimm Reapers?" Hollie said. "They're here? In the city?"

"I dunno if they plan on staying, but yeah, they're the ones who broke us out of Atlas and flew us here. They've apparently got major beef with General Holland, something about not getting paid and stuff."

"That sounds like that bastard Sergei," Qrow said.

"You mentioned that Colonel Franz Gottfried himself might be after me," Hillphire said.

"Yeah," Leon said. "I think his own words were something along the lines of 'I will personally see to it that he doesn't interfere' or something."

"I see."

"Is he really that good in a fight? Ivory and her team were really worried about him while we were making our getaway, but honestly, from appearance alone, he looked like nothing more than a paper pusher."

"Hey," Qrow said. "What the hell did I tell you about underestimating your enemies?"

"Yeah, yeah, my bad."

"Anyway, you two kids are welcome to stay at our place while we sort everything out. Astor, wanna take 'em home?"

"Sure," he said. "Can't go around the city?"

"No," Hillphire said. "If they really are fugitives from Atlas, they can't be seen in public too much, even with their disguises."

"But they're looking for two, a guy and a girl, one with short, blonde hair and the other with long, beautiful, flowing—"

"Astor!" Hollie yelled at him.

He chuckled. "Seriously, though. They'll be looking for a couple, not a trio."

"Give it some time," Qrow said. "When the trail goes cold, then yeah, you guys can go around the city. But not for at least a week. Maybe even two. If Ivory's seen in public, that's gonna put her family in a really bad position, especially her mom and her uncle."

"He kinda has a point," Leon said. "Honestly, she had me cooped up in her mansion the whole time I was her 'guest' anyway, so it's not like I'm not used to it."

He looked at his companion out of the corner of his eye, but Ivory remained expressionless. The last word she had said since entering this room was their report on Atlas military command's intentions. As far as Leon could tell, she made no eye contact with anyone either, keeping entirely to herself.

"Well, I hope you're used to mansions," Astor said, standing up and stretching. "Cuz we're in one, too."

"Yeah, but is your mansion made of ice?" Leon said.

"Good point."

They both glanced at Ivory, who showed no reaction on the outside.

"Oh," Astor said before walking to his mother's desk. "I got these for you."

"They're so pretty!" Hollie said, sniffing the Amaryllis flowers. "At least you remembered to get me flowers. Unlike _someone_ we both know."

"What the hell do you call _that_ , then, huh?" Qrow said, pointing to the bouquet of rainbow-colored carnations he had gotten her not even an hour ago.

"You are too easy to tease," she giggled.

"Psh."

"You coming home later, dad?" Astor said, holding the door open for his guests.

"Yeah," Qrow said. "I'll see you kids tonight. We got official business now, thanks to Leon."

He chuckled before leaving with the other two.

"This is pretty serious," Hillphire said, leaning forward in his chair. "We all expected something like this to happen eventually, but that Colonel Gottfried is an entirely different animal. Even Ironwood would not have permitted such actions back in his day."

"That's cuz Jimmy wasn't an idiot," Qrow said. "He understood that the balance had to be maintained to keep his country from being destroyed. But General Holland and his lapdog Franz Gottfried, they're a mess. And that idiot Jacques isn't making anything easier with his goddamned involvement with the military."

"Is it true that he votes along with both Holland and Gottfried almost every time?" Hollie said.

"It's not _almost_ every time. It's _every time_. I don't understand how that guy agrees with everything they say."

"Anyone is capable of committing unthinkable acts if desperate enough," Hillphire said.

 

* * * * *

 

"Seriously," Astor said, closing the front door behind him. "What in the hell have you guys gotten yourselves into?"

"You know me," Leon said with a sigh. "Trouble seems to have a hate-boner for me."

"I dunno. I think you just have an eye for beautiful girls. That's the second Schnee you've fallen for, isn't it?"

"Dude, c'mon." He paused, contemplating whether or not to share the news about Lilly. He ultimately decided to keep it to himself. "Anyway, where's your bathroom? I need to take a shower."

"Which way is my room?" Ivory said, breaking her silence. "I wish to rest."

The two boys exchanged quick glances.

"Upstairs," Astor said. "First door on the right. Fit for a princess."

Without a word, she headed up.

"Dude, is she okay?"

Leon shrugged. "I mean, she kinda did ditch her family," he said. "I'm guessing it's finally hit her what she's gotten herself into."

"I guess. Still, though."

"Yeah. I'm still not used to Ivory being like that. I mean, I've seen that side of her, back at her house. She invited me into her room and we had a chat and—"

"Wait, _what_?"

"Huh?"

"Yo, she invited you into _her_ _room_?"

"N-Nothing happened, dude, I swear!"

"I don't care, bro. You're sharing a story. Now."

"C-Can I at least take a shower first?"

"Fuck no. We're talkin' over some drinks."


	18. The Loneliest of All

CHAPTER XVIII

_The Loneliest of All_

 

Ivory stared at herself in the mirror for a long time it seemed. The face that gazed back was unfamiliar. It wasn't just the shoulder-length blonde hair or the t-shirt and jeans. Less than one year ago, she would have been the first to stick to orders and be an obedient little soldier. Just like mom. But something changed. She couldn't figure out the exact moment everything turned upside down, but if she had to pick, it would have to be the match she and her team had with Team LILY. Her elder cousin had triumphed against every single thing she had to throw her way, never giving up until the very end.

Or perhaps it was her victory against Athena Rose, the Golden Girl of Vale, the only person Ivory ever considered her equal. No, Athena was supposed to be the better warrior. That match belonged to her, not to Ivory. But according to Athena's own words, there was more to life than mere winning.

 _I had to,_ she told herself. _It was the right thing to do. Wasn't it? I may have betrayed my country, but I've done the right thing, have I not?_

She mindlessly took off her clothes before heading into the shower, allowing the frigid water to run over her face and body. The cold was never an issue for her, but it seemed a lot colder than usual today. She sat on the tile, closing her eyes as the water warmed up. Unbeknownst to her, she began to cry, but she would never find out with the droplets mixing together and washing down the drain.

She wasn't particularly sad or anything. It was just, being in this house, it was too much for her. After all, it was where—

 _Screw that,_ she thought, pushing those images out of her mind. She scrubbed herself up and down with the soap and shampoo that sat on a small shelf, finishing up and walking back out to the bedroom.

The architecture here in Mistral was a lot different from what she was accustomed to back in Atlas. It seemed a lot warmer than even Vale, which was probably more neutral in tone than anything. This house had a lot of wood and paper, typical of Mistral construction, a stark contrast to the stainless steels and icy white concrete that saturated all of Atlas.

Still, it wasn't enough to get the cold out of her system.

She browsed through the walk-in closet for anything to wear. Astor had said this room was fit for a princess and he wasn't joking. She found a pale blue pajama set exactly her size and put it on, letting her golden-dyed hair flow freely, wetting her upper back. She put on a pair of matching pale blue cloth slippers she found before looking at herself in the mirror again.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" she said to her reflection before heading out of the room. She walked over to the balcony, looking downstairs as she leaned against the banister. She listened to her companions' voices as they chatted away about nonsense, mostly concerning their years together back at Signal Academy.

"I'm still sad that your sister said no to me when I asked her to prom," Astor said.

"Dude, the hell are you talking about?" Leon said. "You never even asked her. You were too much of an idiot and a wuss to ask her."

"E-Excuse me? I think I would remember asking her!"

"Yeah, that's probably a subconscious defense mechanism to protect your pride. You don't remember? You kept bugging me and Ingrid about it. 'What should I wear? Does she like flowers? Should I sing a song to her?' That was all the shit you kept saying and you ended up not even asking her, you dumbass!"

"Th-That's not how I remember it!"

"Uh-huh. You're lucky you have a friend like me. I'm the one who suggested we all go together as a quartet, remember?"

"Shit. I think I _am_ starting to remember. Dammit, I can't believe I choked up like that over a girl back then. But, bro, I mean, Athena is beautiful. I know she's your sister, but man, she's basically perfect. Echo's a lucky little fucker."

"C'mon, dude."

"Eh, I don't think it woulda worked out between us anyway. Doesn't seem like she's into dudes."

"Nah, she's actually into both guys and girls. But Echo's the one who stole her heart, I guess. I mean, she's cute, so yeah."

"Hell yeah. I wouldn't mind watching them."

"Fuck, dude! Quit talking like that about my sister!"

Astor laughed out loud. "I'm just fuckin' with you, bro. I love Athena. I couldn't think of her in such lewd terms."

"I find that hard to believe," Ivory said, stopping next to the couches the two boys were sprawled on.

"Well, you on the other hand," Astor said, moving aside and patting the seat next to him.

Ivory rolled her eyes before taking a seat on another armchair.

"You're lucky Renata's not here," Leon said with a chuckle. "She'd probably penetrate you right about now."

Astor choked on his beer. "The fuck?"

"I'm serious. She almost did me."

"Hang on, what?"

"She has a sword."

Astor paused. "For a moment, I pictured her with, like, a strap-on or something. Or maybe...never mind. I'm gonna try and bleach my brain now."

"It's your fault for using the word 'penetrate'," Ivory said, to which Leon laughed.

"Beer?" Leon said, popping the cap off a bottle and holding it out for Ivory, who refused. "Your loss," he said as he set the bottle on the coffee table.

"So," Astor began, "you all freshened up and stuff, your highness?"

"Yes, thank you," Ivory said.

"And I think I'm gonna go hit the showers myself," Leon said, standing up and stretching. "Which room is mine?"

"The one across from Ivory's," Astor said. "Fit for a prince."

"I don't remember you being so rich, dude. What happened?"

"I've always lived in this house. The fuck is wrong with you?"

"Well, we never visited you out here, dumb fuck!"

"So you just assumed I was poor?"

"No, you idiot! I assumed you were normal—you know what, forget this. I'm gonna shower. Peace."

"Don't fall in the toilet!"

"Uh-huh."

Astor noticed Ivory glancing at Leon out of the corner of her eye as he headed upstairs.

"So," he began. "How's life for the reigning champ?"

She shrugged.

"Cool."

Astor may have been persistent, but he knew when pushing would get him nowhere. And from the few interactions he'd had with Ivory during the Vytal Festival, he understood that she wasn't someone who would open up to just anybody.

"Hey, I hope I'm not creeping you out or anything with all that stuff I said earlier today," he said.

"No, you don't creep me out," she said. "I do find your behavior slightly desperate and pathetic."

"Ouch. You don't hold back."

"I can say the same about you."

"Huh. Yeah, I guess. Those weren't empty compliments, by the way. Honestly, I can't decide who's prettier between you and your cousin. Lilly's a friggin' sweetheart, but there's something about you that's...I dunno how to say it."

She sighed. Yet another comparison to her cousin.

"Anyway, are you hungry?"

"Why, do you cook?"

"No, but if you two are super hungry, I'm gonna ask my mom to cook her Lemon Pepper Pepper Chicken. Y'all gotta try that first."

"'Pepper Pepper'?"

He chuckled. "Yup. It's got lots of peppers. Green, yellow, and red. Yes, the color of stoplights."

"I see."

"And don't worry. I'll stop hitting on you. After all, I'm not one to get in the way of a buddy."

She looked over at him.

"I'm not the kind of friend who steals girls away, 'kay?"

"I'm sorry?"

He grinned. "Muffin. Just, you know. Lookin' out for a friend is all."

"I have no idea what you are trying to insinuate."

He stood up and stretched. "I'm-a hit the shower, too. Feel free to roam around the house. Mi casa es tu casa."

"What?"

He chuckled before heading upstairs.

Ivory sat alone for some time, pulling her knees up and hiding the lower half of her face behind them as she stared straight ahead at nothing in particular. She had two major things on her mind right now: how to stop a war and how to find Lilly, who was lost in a Labyrinth.

 _Normal sixteen-year-old girls don't think about this kind of stuff,_ she thought. _But then, being born a Schnee isn't exactly normal._

She closed her eyes, envisioning herself in a different time, a different place, born to a different family. There was no snow in this imagined place, only endless fields of tall grass and flowers of every variety. Her mother was not a military officer in this world. She was a civilian, working in an office like other normal people. Her father was also a normal man, working in his own office. Her parents would come home every day at the same time, exactly when the bus would take her home from school as well and she would greet them with the brightest smile she could muster and then her parents would take her in their arms before they all walked into their tiny home together.

Ivory was jarred back to reality by the sound of someone taking a seat nearby. She cracked open her eye to spy on Leon, who was leaning awkwardly on the backrest of his armchair, his eyes shut, beer bottle in hand. She admired how relaxed he could always be even though they were in the midst of a crisis. It seemed nothing could bother him, although she knew that was false. Lilly's absence was a massive burden on his soul.

 _Lilly_...

"You sure you don't want one?" Leon said, pushing his damp golden-dyed hair to the side.

Ivory looked at him for a bit, admiring his well-defined chest and arm muscles. He had grown somewhat in the past few months, though he never lost that lean look about him, denoting more speed and technique over strength and resilience.

"Is it too warm for a shirt?" she said.

Leon replied with a shrug.

Ivory sighed before reaching over to the table and grabbing the bottle he had opened for her. She took a sip and made a face.

"What?" Leon chuckled. "You're able to drink that ultra bitter ass coffee and you can't handle a little beer?"

"Coffee may be bitter," she said, "but this is disgusting."

He watched as she stood up and headed to the kitchen. "Where are you going?"

"I'm looking for something more palatable."

He chuckled as he followed after her. She went through cabinet after cabinet before finally finding what she was looking for. She pulled out a bottle of the finest wine she could find.

"Excellent," she said. "Aged for twenty-one years in the finest grade maple cask. I expected nothing less from wine produced in Mistral."

"Everything you say really makes you sound high-born," Leon muttered.

She glanced over at him. She did not intend on it, but Leon sensed a tinge of hurt in her eyes. He wanted to apologize, but it wasn't as if it would do any good. He watched silently as she found the wine glass cabinet, pulling out a pair and setting them on the counter with the bottle. She gestured to him and he nodded. She poured the red wine into both glasses. As with everything, she tasted the wine carefully, her delicate palate picking up on every fine detail, things Leon could not even begin to imagine.

"It's good," she said, looking at the glass as she swirled the wine around.

"That's it?" Leon said. "No comment on the, uh, body, or whatever?"

She didn't respond. There was silence between them for some time. Ivory was the one to break it.

"Leon," she said, turning to face him as he was in the middle of drinking. "Can you...is it..." She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Am I someone who can be loved?"

He stared at her for a moment, trying to get over the shock of what she had just said. "What do you mean by that?"

She opened her mouth to clarify, but shook her head instead. "Never mind."

Leon set his glass down. "No, Ivory, what do you mean?"

"It's nothing."

"Hey."

Her heart skipped a beat as he touched her hand.

"C'mon, talk to me."

"Are you so insistent because I'm her cousin?"

His face soured.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean that."

He let out a heavy sigh. "No, it's not just because you're Lilly's cousin. I mean, I guess that might have something to do with it, but again, it's not..." He took a deep breath. "I've been hanging out with you long enough to know that you're not the person you try to make everybody around you believe you are."

She looked down at the ground.

"Talk to me."

She tried searching for the words. "I don't know..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I just...sometimes, I feel like people only put up with me because of who I am. Because of _what_ I am."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it? Viktor, Renata, and Yorath, they only stay by my side because we're a team. Because I'm their captain. My friends, if one could even call them that, only stay close to me to try and gain favor with one of the richest, most influential, most powerful families in the entire world. I mean, even my own mother spends more time working than with me."

"What in the world has gotten into you?"

Ivory looked into Leon's eyes.

"Where the heck is all this coming from?"

She didn't answer.

"What happened to the girl that doesn't give a shit about anything anybody thinks about her? Where is that hella confidence you used to have? All of a sudden you're doubting yourself, letting your shoulders droop forward, standing all small and shit."

She looked away from him.

"First of all, I think it sucks that you think those people you listed don't love you. There are _a lot_ of people who love you. I think at the top of that list is your team. Renata would kill everything for you. Viktor and Yorath would go through hell for you. And it's not because of rank. It's because you're you. You're one of them. Don't even get me started on your family. Aside from your asshole grandpa, of course. But Uncle Whitley loves you like you're his own kid. And his kids treat you more like a big sister than a cousin. Hell, your _butler_ might as well be part of your family, too. And your mom. How the hell could you say that about her? No shit she loves you! What mother _doesn't_ love her kids?"

The more he continued on, the smaller she became. Her shoulders were never this hunched over in her life. Her self-confidence was all but gone. But she had to hear these words. Leon had a point. How could she ever doubt those people? They were the only ones in the world she could truly say loved her without a shadow of a doubt.

But that wasn't the real reason she started this conversation.

"Ivory, what is it?"

It was obvious from the start, but she still could not admit it to herself.

"What is all of this about?"

It was because she was in this city, in this house, in _his_ house.

"Does this have something to do with the only family member you _haven't_ mentioned?"

She balled her fists. The mere thought of his name infuriated her.

"It has something to do with your dad, doesn't it—"

"That man is not my father!" she screamed.

Leon froze. Her shriek must have been audible throughout the whole house, but no one came running. Unlike the fully staffed Schnee Mansion, this building was quite empty.

"I-I'm sorry," Ivory said. "I shouldn't have—"

"Hey, it's okay."

"No. It's not. It'll never be okay."

"Ivory—"

"Just...I'm going to bed, all right?"

He nodded, watching her stomp out of the kitchen. He let out a heavy sigh before downing all of the wine in his glass. He stared at the counter for a while. He'd figured the topic would come up sooner or later, though he wondered what took so long for her to even ponder it. Or perhaps this had always been on her mind, and it was only something recent that caused it to boil to the surface.

The big question remained. Who exactly was her father? From her outburst, he figured she knew his identity. Why, then? Why was the mere mention of him enough to cause such an outcry from her?

"You're not even married yet and you're already fighting?" Astor said from beside him.

"When the hell did you get here?" Leon said.

"Like, two seconds ago. What happened?"

Leon shrugged before chugging his beer.

"Ooookay, yeah, I'll just, uh, I'll wash these glasses now."


	19. Mirror, Mirror, What's Behind You?

CHAPTER XIX

_Mirror, Mirror, What's Behind You?_

 

It was dawn when Ivory awoke, but it was a cloudy dawn. There was no sun to greet her this morning, only gray skies and a chill in the room. No, there was no chill. The weather was actually somewhat pleasant despite the overcast. The chill came from her own heart, surrounding her with a shell that isolated her from the rest of the world.

But no matter how robust of a shield she tried to erect around her, nothing could protect her from the ache that originated from within her soul. She sat up in bed, shrinking into the headboard, pulling her knees into her chest, allowing the tears to fall, but she made no noise. No one was allowed to hear her cry.

She always told herself and others that she didn't mind the cold, but that was a lie. She hated the cold. She hated the snow. She hated everything about Atlas, the sterile whites that adorned her family's mansion, the hollow polish of all their belongings. The only warmth in her house came from Klein, Uncle Whitley, and her cousins. And from her mom, on the rare occasions that she was home to be with her daughter.

 _Mom,_ she thought as she glanced over to the window, allowing the slow movement of the clouds to hypnotize her.

There was a familiar voice coming from downstairs and she slowly turned her head to the door.

_"I came as soon as I heard she was here. Is everything okay?"_

_"Yeah. We looked after each other. Don't worry, I wasn't gonna let anything happen to her."_

_"Thank you, Leon. I am forever in your debt."_

_"Heh, it's no big deal."_

_"Yeah, you know he has a soft spot for pretty girls."_

_"Shut. Up. Astor."_

_"Hah, you both certainly are like your fathers."_

Father. Yeah, she had one of those, too. But he didn't seem interested in being hers. Why the hell should she let that bother her anyway?

Footsteps neared the door and she leaped out of bed before locking it as quietly as she could. A moment passed before knocking came from the other side.

"Ivory?" her mother's voice sounded through the paper-thin sliding door.

Ivory stared for some time.

"Are you awake, dear? It's me."

She reached up to unlatch the door, hesitating for a moment before opening up for her mother, who instantly recognized the disquiet in her daughter. Ivory's poker face may have fooled most people, but there were a handful who could see right through it. Her mother was one of them.

"Ivory?" Winter said.

Ivory stared at the ground. A good several seconds passed between the two before she stepped aside, gesturing for her mother to enter, all the while avoiding eye contact with her. Winter walked past her daughter silently, watching as the latter slid the door shut and locked it behind her. Winter held her tongue as Ivory went to her dresser to brush her hair.

"Have you been well?" Winter said, breaking the silence between them.

Ivory nodded, keeping her eyes on her own reflection.

"That's good. Leon hasn't been giving you a hard time?"

There was no answer. Winter's attempt at lightening the mood fell flat.

"I'm sorry. I know this must be a stressful time for you, especially with everything the military is doing, but rest assured that everyone at home is fine. There is no suspicion on you. Leon has, for better or worse, taken the burden of being the scapegoat. Officially, I'm here to attempt to retrieve you, but Colonel Gottfried will also arrive soon for some official business with Mistral."

Ivory gave another silent nod.

"Is...something the matter?" Winter said.

She stopped brushing her hair, staring at herself in the mirror.

"You know you can talk to me, hon."

She took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it slowly.

"If you want some time alone, I can wait for you downstairs—"

"Why did you never tell me?" Ivory said without turning away from the mirror.

The question caught Winter off-guard, but she almost instantly knew what her daughter was talking about even without any other points of reference. She knew this day would come, but it was a lot later than she was expecting.

"Was there a reason you kept it a secret from me for all sixteen years of my life? Wait, almost _seventeen_ now."

"Ivory..."

"I just...I need to know. If there was something wrong with me, I—"

"No, Ivory, there is _nothing_ wrong with you."

Ivory turned to face her mother. The look in her eyes was absolute. "Then, why? Why keep it a secret? Not just from me, but from _everyone._ "

From the way Ivory spoke, Winter was able to deduce that she had been bearing the burden of this knowledge for quite some time.

"How long have you known?" Winter said as gently as she could.

Ivory sighed. "Why does that matter?"

She didn't answer.

"I've known since my first year at Atlas Academy. Renata's pretty good at her job, not just as an assassin, but as our team's recon specialist. She had to do a hell of a lot of digging, but she pointed me in the right direction. As soon as that was done, all I had to do was get some of his hair and get a DNA test done and there it was. I'm his daughter."

Winter felt her hand twitch against her will.

"So, why, mother? Why keep it a secret? I mean, of course, aside from the fact that he's a married man and had a two-year-old son at the time."

"Ivory," Winter began, but could not continue her sentence.

Ivory held her breath, closing her eyes for a few moments to clear her head.

"It was...we were both, sort of in a bad place. The war had just ended, we had lost a lot of friends and, well, neither of us was thinking. We had one too many drinks and then we made a mistake."

"Oh. I see."

"No! Ivory, you are _not_ a mistake!"

"Yes. I can see that."

"Ivory!"

"Just...continue your story. I want to know why it was that the two of you decided to make it so that I didn't even have a father. I mean, you didn't even come up with a convincing back story, which, I guess was the better choice since a little digging would've yielded a glaring result of 'bullshit'."

"It was exactly for the reason you mentioned," Winter said. "It was because he was a married man and had a family of his own. But it wasn't simply to bury a past that we didn't want anyone to know about. The true reason was because his wife was a very important, very public person. After all, the headmaster of Haven Academy could never be involved in scandal. And besides that, I didn't want to be the one to tear him away from his family. She loves him very much, and he loves her with all of his heart."

"How selfless of you."

If there was anything Ivory was extremely good at, it was being able to stab at a person's heart using words alone. With such a small sentence, nearly seventeen years of deception came crashing down on Winter's shoulders.

"Do you even love him?" Ivory said coldly.

Winter thought about it for a bit. She needed to choose her words carefully. "Yes, I do, but not in the way you might want me to."

"I see. So, that was, literally, just a one night stand."

Winter nodded, a tear rolling down as she closed her eyes. "I mean, it's not as though he's unattractive or unsuited to be a husband or father, it's just, it wasn't meant to be me and him. And in order to keep the peace, we decided to make it as though that night never happened."

Ivory's demeanor began to change. Her bitterness began to slough away to a mild regret and it showed itself in her voice.

"Did it never cross your mind," Ivory began, a sniffle accompanying her words, "that maybe, just _maybe_ , a girl might need her father?"

Winter looked into her daughter's eyes, crystalline blue eyes that were blurred with tears. It was then that she truly realized what it was she deprived her daughter of.

"I know..." Ivory continued, "...that, I grew up okay, I guess, thanks to good father figures like Klein and Uncle Whitley, but still. Did it ever occur to you that, I mean, I dunno, maybe it would be good to at least let me know who my dad was and why he wasn't around? Instead of, oh, you know, me finding out from one of my teammates?"

"I wanted to tell you," Winter said. "I wanted to tell you so badly, but I just...I didn't know how. There was no way I could put it without it sounding like he abandoned you or that you were some kind of mistake or something. But I want you to know, Ivory, that 'mistake' is the farthest thing you could possibly be. You're a blessing to me, Ivory, a child handed to me by the gods themselves. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. And, I know you don't agree with me on this, but I _wanted_ to raise you on my own. My own father wasn't the best father around, and no, I don't believe that your father would have been as cruel, but..."

Her mother didn't have to explain. Ivory knew that the way a person was raised played a major role in their way of thinking, even overriding their better judgment at times.

"I was confident that I could raise you alone," Winter continued. "And from the way you've grown up, I don't believe we could have done any better. Yes, _we_. Because you do have a father. Your Uncle Whitley and Klein were the best fathers you could have possibly had."

"Even better than my gene donor?"

"Don't call him that," Winter sighed.

"Sorry."

"I don't know. I suppose we'll never know. But from the young woman you've turned out to be, I'd have to say they've done a damn good job."

"So," Ivory began. "That's yet another thing she and I have in common. We were both raised by single mothers."

Winter looked at Ivory. She was staring at a photograph in her hand, one of just her and Lilly, taken at the close of the Vytal Festival after her victory over Athena.

"Why?" Ivory said, her voice breaking over tears. "What did we do to deserve our fathers abandoning us like that?"

With tears in her own eyes, Winter marched to her daughter before holding her in a tight embrace. "You were never abandoned," she said quietly, pulling her head into her chest. "Your own father has never forgotten about you."

"But...Lilly...and Aunt Weiss..."

"No. He never abandoned them. He's been with them all this time. In Lilly."

"It's not the same..."

Ivory was right. It wasn't the same. After all, Ivory could still talk to her father in person. Lilly didn't have that.

The dead have no voice.

 

* * * * *

 

Hollie was standing at the window looking outside when Qrow stepped into their master suite. He threw his coat over the backrest of an armchair before walking over to his wife and giving her a peck on the shoulder before wrapping his arms around her from behind, nuzzling her neck and burying his head in her thick, auburn hair.

"G'mornin' beb," he said, the low grumble of his voice against her skin sending goose bumps all over her body.

"Look what you did, dummy," she said, holding up her arm. "Look at the hairs on my arm. Look. Look what you did."

He kissed her arm and elbow before giving her a kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too, my good luck bird."

He chuckled. "Are you gonna sing me a song?"

"Maybe later. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

She gestured for him to join her at a table, where some freshly brewed coffee was awaiting them. He had a sip before sitting down.

"This is the stuff Lilly likes to drink, isn't it?" Qrow said, setting down his mug.

"Mm-hmm," Hollie said, allowing the warmth to fill her hands. "Ivory recommended some earlier, so I headed to the market to grab a bag of some beans and blended it just the way she told me to."

"That so? Heh, those damn Schnees."

"You still don't like them, huh?"

"People don't change."

"I dunno about that. Weiss has changed a lot."

"That's different, though. Relatively speaking, she was a normal girl who had a ton of shit dumped on her lap during the war. Especially with all that magic stuff."

"And then Bedivere leaving her to raise Lilly alone."

He sighed heavily, turning to the window to watch the clouds gently roll by. "That bastard. The hell did he have to go and do that for?"

"It's certainly a testament, though," Hollie continued, "to the strength of Schnee women, I mean. Both Weiss and Winter were more than capable of raising their daughters without any help from outside. Well, mostly Weiss since she spent most of her time isolating herself from everybody. At least Winter had her brother and the rest of the family."

"Except that asshole Jacques," Qrow said, taking a sip from his mug.

"I think that's the only Schnee you actually don't like. You seem to be on good terms with the middle generation, at least."

"Whitley's stopped being a douche nozzle. Winter's calmed down a lot. And like you said, Weiss went through some tough shit. All the kids have picked up better habits from their parents, too."

"Especially Ivory."

Qrow turned to Hollie, who was looking him square in the eye, her hands folded on her lap, seated as prim and proper as can be. His wife was never one to be so poised and elegant. Whenever she was in this posture, it meant something serious. And with all the talk of the Schnees, she must have been referring to his dark little secret.

"I've known for a number of years now," Hollie began, no change in her bearing or vocal timbre. "More than ten years, I believe."

He waited for a moment. "Who told you?"

"Clearly not you."

That was most definitely meant to be a jab because it hurt. Quite a bit, actually. More than he was expecting it to.

"You never intended on telling me about it, did you?"

"I never saw any reason to," he said flatly. "As far as everyone was concerned, it never happened."

"But she really is yours."

He hesitated before giving a single nod.

"And you're treating her as if she doesn't even exist."

"As if she's not mine, there's a difference."

"No, there isn't. You treating her as if she isn't yours is exactly the same as if she didn't exist."

He didn't answer.

"Look," she sighed, her poise sloughing away as she leaned to the side against her armrest. "I forgave you a long time ago for cheating on me. It's why for ten fucking years I never even brought this up. But seeing you treat Ivory so indifferently is just...it's absolutely fucked up. She's your daughter."

"No, she isn't."

"Goddammit, Qrow. What is wrong with you?"

"Winter and I decided when we both found out that she was pregnant that she would raise her completely alone and without anything from me." He paused in thought. "At the time, we both thought we were keeping the peace. But I guess I shoulda known better."

"What about this whole arrangement was supposed to be good? Huh? I mean, aside from the whole lying to everybody bit. Honestly, I don't really give a shit that you lied to me because it's me. I can handle a little hurt. God knows I've been through my share, but for fuck's sake, Qrow. How could you do that to that little girl?"

Qrow looked her in the eye. She overflowed with tears, tears not for her own sake, but for the sake of another. That was something that he had always loved about his wife, the fact that she could care so damn much about others while forsaking her own self. It was no wonder her Semblance could have such a profoundly positive effect on those around her. The total opposite of his.

He stood up with his mug, walking over to the window to stare outside at the clouds floating overhead. He'd figured that his luck would have to swing the other way after all these years. It's not as though a man could have good fortune all his life. The pendulum must always swing back. That was just how his Semblance worked.

"Qrow," Hollie said as she wiped tears away. "You'd better not be thinking about that Semblance of yours."

"You've always been able to read my mind," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"It makes for a shitty scapegoat, you know."

"Or a realistic reason for what happens in my life. And it just so happened you and Winter and the kids got wrapped up in it."

"The worst thing, the _worst_ thing right now that you could think is that what happened is somehow bad luck."

"Ain't it a bit of both?" he said, turning to her. "In a way, it was bad luck. We had a stupid one night stand and she gets pregnant." He paused. "But, then again, Ivory came out of it."

From the sound of his voice, she could sense longing, a distant desire to be that girl's father, and yet a stinging realization that he never could be, that it was much too late, that perhaps he had decided for himself that he did not deserve to be a part of her life.

But that would not fly with her.

"I told you before," Hollie began, "that I forgave you a long time ago for what you did. But there is something that I will never forgive you for."

Qrow looked at his wife.

"I don't care what you do to me, but if you continue to shut out that girl as if she doesn't exist, I will kick you out of this house and out of this family."

He looked at the ground.

"I want you to walk out there, hold her in your arms tightly, and let her know that she exists to you. You owe her that at the very least. You owe _me_ that. I was a little girl once, too. God help me if I let you ruin another girl's life by denying her existence."

He closed his eyes. What would he say to her, though? It wasn't as though he could take seventeen years of absence and reverse them. If anything, he'd only make things worse for her, for Winter, for everyone. What he needed to do was get away from everyone before his damned Semblance did any more damage—

A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him, cradling his head gently, but firmly. The touch alone was enough to make his heart grow heavy and he could scarcely contain the emotion burgeoning up from within.

"Qrow," Hollie whispered to her husband. "I love you. With all of my heart. What's done is done. Please, don't deprive that girl of her right to know that her dad loves her."

A single tear rolled down his cheek as he returned his partner's embrace. He didn't deserve such an amazing woman.

 

* * * * *

 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Astor said, his mouth hanging open.

"That's your own fault, you dumbass," Leon said. "That's why _I_ don't flirt with everything that moves."

"Excuse me?" Ivory said. " _You're_ one to talk, Rose."

"I am offended!"

"Oh, god," Astor said, glancing over at Ivory. "Oh, god!"

"You were hitting on your own sister, bro," Leon said.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! Shit! Oh, man, this is, this, this is just, this is _messed up_."

"Do you understand now why I rebuffed every single advance?" Ivory said.

"Yes! Yes, I do!"

"I mean," Leon began, resting his arm on Astor's shoulder, "I get it. Your sister really is beautiful."

Ivory reddened, glaring at him.

"Leon!" both siblings yelled at the same time.

"Oh, hell no!" Astor said. "You did _not_ just—no!"

"The feeling is mutual!" Ivory said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Astor sighed heavily before leaning against the wall. "Shit." He sighed again. "Fuck. I mean, I know my dad can be a flirt. Hell, so can my mom. Look how I ended up. But I never figured he'd be a philandering old man."

"No, it wasn't like that," Ivory said. "Qrow isn't a womanizer."

"Yeah, at least, not from what I've seen," Leon said. "I mean, dude, we grew up around him back on Signal, remember?"

"Still," Astor said. "I can't believe...why would he do that? To my mom of all people. Does she even know? For fuck's sake."

"Yes, I do know," Hollie said as she, Qrow, and Winter joined them in the hallway.

Leon glanced over at Ivory. She was as stiff as a board. He couldn't tell whether or not she was about to run away at this instant, but that wasn't Ivory. The Ivory he had come to know and love would stand her ground and fight—

_Huh? What? Love?_

He felt himself redden as the standoff continued. Ivory was looking straight up into her father's eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, Qrow stepped forward, stopping mere feet away from his daughter, who did not budge.

"Ivory," he said. "Is it...is it okay if I hold you?"

Her heart stopped beating as she held her breath. Would it really be okay? She hated him so much for what he had done to her, depriving her of the touch of her real father, but at the same time she could not deny that she also longed for the man who supplied half of her genes. She let out her breath, closing her eyes for a moment.

"No."

That one word froze every single person in the hallway. For a good minute, there was utter silence among the group. Leon wanted to teleport to safety, but it was as though his Semblance was on lockdown. His very feet were anchored to the hardwood floors.

"You don't..." Ivory began, her quiet voice piercing the void between herself and her father, "you don't have that right. Not yet. My Uncle Whitley and Klein, our butler, only they have the right to treat me like...like their own daughter."

Qrow looked at the ground. Hollie put her hands to her mouth. Winter bit her lower lip. Astor and Leon didn't know what to do with themselves.

"But..." Ivory continued. "If you wish, you may accompany me. I wish to see the city of Mistral. This is my first time here and I will need a guide."

He smiled. "If it's okay with you, I'd be glad to escort you."

She curtseyed to him before following him down the hall. The others watched as they disappeared around a corner.

"Huh," Astor mumbled.

"What?" Leon said.

"It didn't hit me until now."

"What didn't hit you until now?"

Astor turned to Winter. "Ivory's turning seventeen in a week or two, isn't she?"

"How did you know that?" Winter said.

He turned to Hollie. "Mom, you ever notice that dad always drinks a single glass of his best bottle of liquor on the same day every single year? Literally five days before the New Year."

"Yup," Hollie said. "That's Ivory's birthday."

"So, he _has_ been keeping her in his heart," Winter said.

"We have a lot to catch up on, Winter. Let's talk over some coffee. I know you and your daughter enjoy a cup every now and again."

"It's mostly her. She picked it up from Weiss."

"And she suggested a fine cup for us. Shall we? Oh, you two aren't invited. This is girl talk only."

"Psh," Astor and Leon scoffed at the same time.

"C'mon, let's go hit the town," Astor said to Leon. "There's this cute flower girl I wanna introduce you to."

"That's really gonna get your ass into serious trouble one of these days," Leon said.

"As much trouble as my dad is in?"

"Astor!" Hollie berated him from down the hall.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Super saying," both boys said together before sharing a high five.

 

* * * * *

 

Ivory was mostly silent as Qrow accompanied her through the streets of Mistral. Although she was still on the run from the Atlas government, they had figured it would be safe enough to wander the streets so long as they didn't make a scene. Her disguise was mostly effective. It wasn't as though blonde hair and blue eyes was a rarity around this country. Of course, she had to dress the part as well, but after everything Leon had put her through, she didn't mind. After all, traditional Mistral clothing beat out jeans and a t-shirt by a lot.

"So, Qrow," Ivory began, tucking a lock of golden-dyed hair behind her ear, "what do you and your wife like to eat for lunch?"

"Hollie's a meat eater," he answered. "I guess that's the lion Faunus in her."

She chuckled. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I've never really been too picky about the stuff I cram into my mouth."

"Does that apply to your liquor as well?"

He smirked. "Well, yeah. But I will admit that I know how to appreciate a bottle of the good stuff."

"I did go through your alcohol cabinet last night. You have some fine selections of wine and liquor."

"So _you're_ the one who opened up my favorite bottle of pinot noir."

"Were you saving it for an occasion?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, there're only a few occasions I celebrate with the good alcohol. One's my wedding anniversary, the other's Astor's birthday..."

She waited for him.

"...And I guess now you know that I have a glass to myself every twenty-sixth of December."

The date of her birthday.

"I wish to know more about your tastes and distastes," Ivory said. "Over some lunch."

"What were you thinkin' 'bout munchin' on?"

She shrugged. "What do you enjoy?"

"Hmm." He pondered the subject for a time. "You're okay with not-so-fancy food, aren't you?"

"I'm open to any suggestion."

"Good. As much as I love good steaks myself, I've gotten kinda enamored with the ramen."

"I've never had any."

"First time for everything."

 

* * * * *

 

Leon and Astor hid behind menus as they continued to spy on Qrow and Ivory. After Hollie had kicked them both out of the house, they had decided to trail the father-daughter duo, but not before making a stop at Hanako's flower stand. Just to irritate his best friend, Leon had made sure to get her attention as much as possible.

"You do know I'm gonna get you back for that shit," Astor said, peering at his father and half-sister over his menu.

"With who, Ivory?" Leon snickered.

"Fuck you."

"Damn, I still can't believe Qrow has a kid with another woman. And she happens to be friggin' Winter Schnee."

"I still don't know if I can forgive him for that shit. It doesn't look like my mom was all that hurt by it. I'm guessing she's known all this time. Still, what the fuck was he thinking?"

"He spends half his life drunk as shit. That doesn't exactly reek of 'thinking'."

"Goddammit, dad. What the hell?"

 

* * * * *

 

"Thank you for the meal," Ivory said as she and Qrow finished lunch. "I think I've discovered a new favorite."

"We can try out some of the more traditional stuff when you're feeling adventurous," Qrow said.

She smiled. "I have to ask. And I do apologize if this brings the mood down somewhat, but...did you and my mother ever love each other?"

"The way a husband and wife should, you mean?"

Ivory nodded.

"We've always been good friends." He paused. "Well, actually, she's always hated me. You know better than anyone else that your mom is a bit of a stickler for regulations and shit."

"It's a bit important for a military officer."

"Yeah, sure. Well, I was the total opposite— _am_ —the total opposite. So, yeah, she kinda hated me. But we always respected each other as professionals. At least, that's how it got during the last war. Honestly, I blame that bastard for how everything turned out."

"Hmm?" Ivory said, looking at him in curiosity.

"Oh, sorry. There was another guy who was part of our group. He died protecting the world. But it was him who brought all of us together. I mean, the only reason we're sitting here right now is because of his sacrifice."

"You're talking about..."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"I've suddenly been hit with the realization that I'm a lot more fortunate than she is. After all, I still have the opportunity to get mad at you face to face. She...won't ever have that chance."

There was quiet between them for a moment.

"I apologize," Ivory said. "I did not intend to make the conversation depressing."

Qrow smiled. "No, actually, it's kinda good to think back on the good ol' days. Never forget the ones who already went on and left the rest of us behind."

She smiled.

"Oh, also, myself and your grandpa never quite got along."

"I don't blame you there."

"You hate him, too?"

"Mostly everyone does. Do you know about what he did to Aunt Weiss?"

"Yeah. Bastard."

"As my mother says, it was unforgivable."

"At least your uncle's gotten better. You said it yourself, he's been more of a father to you than anyone else."

"Still not the same."

Qrow watched Ivory as she looked at the table. She sat as prim and proper as he had expected her to.

"You...might not want to hear this from me," Qrow began, "but I'm proud of you, kiddo."

Ivory looked up into Qrow's crimson eyes.

"It's true that I've been keeping track of you. Your mom never sent me any info about you since, well, we kinda had this agreement to treat that night as if it never happened, but, I dunno. I guess I just couldn't turn my back on you."

She fought the emotions rising to the surface. It was too early for her father to see her tears, even though all she ever wanted was to have another parent who could shoulder her when she couldn't go on. She opened her mouth to tell him that it was okay for him to call her his little girl, but right before Qrow's very eyes, Ivory vanished.

"The hell?" he mumbled as he stood up, glancing all around. "Ivory?"

"Hey, what the hell just happened?" Leon said as he and Astor jogged up to him.

"Did you two see that?"

"She just disappeared," Astor said. "I thought we were both seeing things, but what the fuck?"

"Oh, shit," Leon said. "This can't be good."

"You thinking the same thing I'm thinking, kid?" Qrow said.

"Yeah. And it's not good."

"Dammit. We need to get to Hillphire. Now."


	20. Home Front

CHAPTER XX

_Home Front_

 

"How far are we from Mistral?" Perseus said as he followed after Athena, who led the group on the hike.

"If our transport didn't get attacked by those damn Grimm, we'd've been there yesterdays ago," Athena said.

"How're you holding up?" Ingrid said to Penny, who was gripping her stump, which had started to bleed again.

"I'll be fine," the group's elder said as she cleaned up the white fluid. "Xanthus did a pretty good job with the stitching and soldering."

Xanthus scratched his head with a coy smile.

"Hey," Ingrid said quietly. "I know I'm not the only one who's noticed, but, do you think Xanthus has a thing for you?"

Penny giggled, keeping her voice down as well. "Like you said, you're not the only one who's noticed."

"There must be some kind of policy against faculty and students dating."

"I think it's sweet and all, but, I mean..."

Ingrid looked at her. "You're not referring to that, are you?" she said, pointing to what remained of her left arm.

Penny didn't answer.

"Athena already said it for us, but it's worth repeating. There's nothing about you that makes us see you as less of a person."

"Would you be saying that if you knew about this when we first met?"

"Probably," Echo said with a shrug, overhearing their conversation. "I mean, I'm 'different' myself. I know what it feels like to be left out."

"Same," Ingrid said. "I mean, cat ears?"

Ingrid had failed to notice that Athena was no longer leading the pack, instead creeping up on her from behind to grab her ears.

"Goddammit, Athena!" the group's resident cat Faunus hissed.

Athena snickered before returning to the front.

"Honestly, though," Echo continued, "what you're made of doesn't really determine who you are."

They glanced over at Xanthus, who was walking alongside Yuan. They were in their home country now, not too far from the capital city. Both boys had gone to Sanctum Academy together, though their affiliation with one another at that school was far more casual than the partnership they now shared.

"We're only about a few days' hike from the capital," Xanthus said as he pushed up his glasses. "Three tops if we keep at this pace."

Perseus glanced over at Yuan, who seemed fixated on something in the distance. "Hey, something bothering you?" When his companion didn't answer, he looked in the same direction. "Smoke?"

Without a word, Yuan broke into a dash.

"Yuan!" Ingrid said, running after him.

"What's gotten into that guy?" Athena said, leading the rest of the group. "He never just runs off like that."

"This isn't good," Xanthus said. "If I am not mistaken, we are nearing his hometown."

"Kuroyuri?"

"Yes."

Without another word, the group sped up their pace, catching up with Yuan, who already had his Ji halberd deployed as he led the pack.

"I'm right behind you," Ingrid said to him.

He gave her a glance, nodding.

Kuroyuri had started off as a small village a good distance away from Mistral's capital, though since then it had grown into a decent-sized town, now a center for shipping and trade. It served as a port specifically for Dust imports from Menagerie, though the southern region of Vale also made stops there as well.

The group looked up as a shuttle went down over their heads. There were a number of flying Grimm accosting it.

"Perseus, Xanthus, go check for survivors!" Athena said.

"Roger!" they replied together before splitting from the rest of the group.

Penny looked over at Yuan as they continued their dash to Kuroyuri. He certainly took after his father. Even as they ran to a town on fire, his entire being was calm, reflected by the serene state of his aura. But there was something different this time. He may have been calm, but there was a stern resolve resonating from his core.

 

* * * * *

 

"Ren! Ren! Where are you?"

"I'm over here."

Nora panted as she joined her husband's side. "I thought I'd lost you!"

Ren pushed the section of wall away, freeing himself before standing with his wife. "Is everyone in the shelters?"

"Not everyone just yet. The first shelter is full and sealed, but the second and third aren't even close to capacity yet. Also, we just lost Captain Ayanami and Jiro."

"Damn it. They were our best."

"Yeah. We'll give them a warrior's sendoff once we wipe out these bastards."

"Thank goodness for Hillphire's shelters. We'd have a much worse massacre if it weren't for him."

"Yeah. You're gonna have to send him a big batch of pancakes after we're done here!"

He chuckled before re-engaging the Grimm alongside Nora. The duo tore their way through countless Grimm of all types, not least of which were dozens of Beowolves and a number of Ursas as well, including Alpha variants.

"I don't get it," Nora said, taking a breather with Ren as the latter cloaked both of their presences from the Grimm. "The last time we saw this many Grimm in one spot was twenty years ago."

"Yeah," Ren said, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "I guess Oscar's report wasn't a mistake. Apparently, there have been quite a few big Grimm outbreaks over in Vale, too. Mostly smaller settlements on the outskirts of the kingdom, but a few larger towns closer to the city have been abandoned."

"Do you think...?"

"No. There's no way. Weiss sealed Salem away for good, remember? We both watched as she entombed her with her own hands."

"Yeah, but Salem was pretty powerful. She even gave Weiss a run for her money. Hell, it took all of us, including Dr. Oscar—I still think that's weird by the way—and even one of Hillphire's machines to stop her from moving. And even with Durandal in her chest, her power still manages to seep out every now and then."

"There's no way she's breaking out, not with Durandal sealing her away. You do remember what that sword is capable of, right?"

"You don't have to remind me. We both watched as the shape of planet changed with each hit between Durandal and Caliburn..."

Both quickly grew somber at the reminder of their fallen friend.

"C'mon," Ren said, stepping out from their hiding place. "We have more people to save."

 

* * * * *

 

"Mom!" Yuan yelled as he burst through one of the town's gates. "Dad!"

"Yuan! To your left!"

He turned in that direction and impaled an Ursa in the chest. Ingrid lent the finishing blow, decapitating it with a swift swing from Shadow Blitz in double-spear form.

"Thanks," he said.

Ingrid gave him a nod before turning to their companions, who were engaging their own Grimm, including Penny, whose combat effectiveness didn't seem to be hampered at all despite missing an arm.

"Hashtag-Goals," Perseus said, joining the duo. "You two go find Yuan's parents. We'll take care of stuff here."

"There's a shelter over that way," Yuan said, pointing to the distance. "The entrance is inside the library, to the left. There should be a guard there if it's not already filled to capacity. Help with the civilians if you can."

"That's what us Huntsmen are for, ain't it? I'll fill the others in on the info. Good luck, bro."

Yuan gave him a nod before he and Ingrid dashed further into town, cutting down one Grimm after another, their teamwork utterly flawless. Her swiftness and technique were the perfect complement to his own strength and technique. They were capable of reading one another's intentions without exchanging as much as a word.

Ingrid gasped as something slashed at her, something that even her Faunus senses failed to pick up on before it was too late.

"Specter!" Yuan yelled, moving in to assist his companion, but he, too, found himself battling his own opponent.

For the first time since their initial encounter with these Grimm, they were able to get a really good look at it. Its form was something close to a human-reptile hybrid, standing on two legs and using weaponry suited to whatever task it was needed for. These particular Specter Grimm were armed with katana and pistols holstered at their thighs.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Ingrid mumbled to Yuan as they neared each other.

"Grimm using weapons?" he said before shaking his head. "I always thought they destroyed everything manmade."

"Maybe those aren't manmade."

"I find the implication mildly disturbing."

"That makes two of us."

 

* * * * *

 

"Hey!" Ren yelled as he dashed at a Grimm attacking Nora. "Get off of her!"

He tackled the ape-like Beringel Grimm before kicking off of it mid-roll, landing next to his partner and helping her up to her feet.

"You okay?" he asked.

"My hero!" Nora said before jumping into his arms.

"Nora!"

She giggled as he lowered her back to the earth. "Gosh, that thing hits like a gorilla," she said, rubbing her head.

"Well, I mean," he said as he gesticulated at the Grimm, which was preparing to charge at them.

"You won't catch me off-guard a second time!" Nora yelled before charging at the beast as well. Magnhild connected with the monster's jaw, sending it crashing into a nearby building, but in seconds, it was on its feet again, charging right at her. "This guy sure can take a beating."

Ren fired his submachine-guns at the monster's feet, tripping it and giving Nora the opportunity she needed. She brought down her hammer full force upon the Beringel's head, ending it for good.

"It's not over yet!" Ren said, dashing at his partner to protect her from an incoming Alpha Beowolf.

"There's a lot more coming from there!" Nora said. "Where the hell are all these things spawning out of?"

 

* * * * *

 

"Something's not right," Echo said as her Semblance began the same low hum from before. "This is just like the fight we just had with that Moloch guy."

"Your Semblance being all crazy again?" Athena said as she stabbed an Alpha Beowolf in the face.

"Yeah. But I know for sure it isn't the Specter Grimm because they've been around and the buzzing only just started."

"That means..."

Echo nodded. "Probably another one of those guys."

"What the hell are they anyway?"

Their conversation was cut short by a fireball impacting nearby, which they barely dodged. They turned toward the origin of the attack. There were individuals standing in the distance, a large man, a smaller man, and a woman with green hair.

"The hell?" Perseus said. "What's going on here?"

"Perhaps they are the ones orchestrating this Grimm attack," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses.

"Man, they weren't kidding," the smaller man said as the trio approached Team APEX. "I mean, I saw you at the Vytal Festival, but still. It's unbelievable. It's almost like you're her second coming or something."

"And who might you be?" Athena said, squaring off with them alongside her team.

"We're here to distract you while the heavy hitters get into town. Or maybe we're the heavy hitters and you're the real target and the town is just a diversion. I guess you'll have to try and figure out what we're really up to."

"Guys," Penny said, standing between her students and the three familiar faces. "Stay back. I'll handle these three."

"In your state?" Perseus said. "Look, I appreciate—we all appreciate—what you're trying to do here, but honestly, you need to learn to trust us. Sure, we're Huntsmen-in-training, but the word 'Huntsmen' is still in there."

Penny looked over at Team APEX. Each one had their attention focused on the three new opponents before them. It wasn't over-protectiveness this time, though. She knew these three. And she knew just how dangerous they were. Perseus had a point, though. She needed to learn to let them go. They had more than proven themselves enough already.

"I'll take on their teacher," the large man said.

"Okay, Hazel, just don't get tangled up in her wires," the smaller man said.

"Which one are you gonna take, Mercury?" the only female in the group said.

"I'll take on Pyrrha's second coming. It'll be like old times. What about you, Emerald?"

"The guy with the glasses."

"Cool. I guess we'll leave the shield guy and the archer to the Nuckelavee."

"Did he just say," Echo began.

"Nuckelavee?" Perseus finished.

Off to the side, a Grimm they had never seen before emerged from around the corner of a burning house. It consisted of a man-like figure attached permanently to a horse-like beast beneath it.

"The pictures don't do that thing any justice," Perseus said. "It's way freakier in real life."

"Be careful of these guys," Penny said. "Emerald's Semblance is the ability to plant false images in your mind."

"What about Mercury?" Athena said.

"His Semblance is unknown, but I do know his legs are mechanical."

"Maybe so, but I'm not sensing any metal in them."

"He must have upgraded since then. Probably using non-magnetic materials."

"Well, it'll be just like any other fight, then."

"Athena, be very careful. This won't be like any other fight you've ever fought."

Athena's face went grim. "Do you think it'll be anything like what we faced in that goddamned Labyrinth?"

Penny glanced at Athena and Echo. Both wore severe looks on their faces. They had yet to speak of their experience in that other world, but judging from their appearance now, it may have been just as bad as their own trials twenty years ago.

 

* * * * *

 

"I see them," Ingrid said as they hid behind some debris to recuperate. Yuan's aura regeneration ability was unheard of, but his stamina wasn't infinite. "Doesn't look like they're struggling at all."

"That's my parents for you," he said. "Dad was the one who taught me how to fight. Mom was the one I mostly fought against."

"Jeez. I feel bad for your ribs."

"It was mostly my legs she kept trying to hit with her hammer."

"Remind me to never piss off your mom, yeah?"

Yuan chuckled before leading the way out of their concealment to join his parents in battle. They were still a good distance away when a massive horde of Grimm emerged out of nowhere and came down on them. Neither had any way of retreating; there were too many townsfolk in the area to protect. Both Yuan and Ingrid broke into a dash to join Ren and Nora, but just as they came within range, Yuan had an idea. He yelled out to his mother, who turned to him.

"Are you ready?" Yuan shouted.

Nora let out a grin before giving him a thumbs up.

"Uh-oh," Ren said, distancing himself from her.

Yuan held Heaven Scorcher skyward, activating its secondary feature. The Lightning Dust crystal was exposed as the head of the Ji halberd transformed and in another second, a powerful bolt of lightning shot out and struck Nora directly, electrocuting her.

"What did you just do?" Ingrid yelled.

"Wait for it," he said, resting his weapon on his shoulder.

Ingrid turned to the fray, watching as Ren fled the scene. The Grimm surrounded Nora before descending on her like a pack of ravenous beasts, but in the next second, a massive explosion rocked the town. The blast originated from Nora, sending debris and mangled Grimm flying in every direction.

"What the hell just happened?" Ingrid said, her mouth open.

"My mom's Semblance is the ability to absorb electrical energy and convert it directly to strength," Yuan said. "I just zapped her with a ton of volts."

"So, what, she just smashed the ground with her hammer and nuked everything within a hundred feet?"

"If you hit hard enough, things tend to explode."

"Yeah, but, holy crap!"

"Are you two okay?" Nora said as she joined the two kids and her husband. Her body was still charged with electricity.

"Mom, your hair's standing up again," Yuan said.

She giggled as Ren tried unsuccessfully to flatten her hair back to its usual style.

"Oh, well," Ren said. "It looks good either way."

"Does anybody know why the Grimm are attacking the town?" Yuan said.

"It started not too long ago," Ren said. "Not even an hour ago, I think."

"They literally just came out of nowhere," Nora said. "None of the patrols reported any Grimm at all."

"Casualties?" Yuan said.

"Thanks to Hillphire tech, not so bad, but we have lost some good men." She paused. "Yuan, I'm sorry."

Yuan looked at the ground. "It's okay. Jiro was a good warrior. We'll send him off like a warrior when we've exterminated the Grimm from here."

Ingrid looked over at him as he marched toward another pack of Grimm. She had never seen him so ferocious before. Perhaps this was the side of him that he inherited from his mother.

"Who's Jiro?"

"They grew up here together," Ren said.

Ingrid balled her fists. These Grimm were responsible for so many tragedies now. She ran to Yuan's side before breaking Shadow Blitz into two.

"C'mon," she said. "Let's slay some bodies."

 

* * * * *

 

"Damn it," Perseus said, landing next to Echo. "I hate this fucking thing."

"Its arms have some pretty serious reach," Echo said before firing another arrow, which the Nuckelavee swatted away with ease.

"And that goddamned scream. Seriously, how are you not bothered by that thing?"

"I've seen worse."

"What the hell could be worse than this?"

She didn't answer. Neither she nor Athena were ready to talk about what they had seen in the Labyrinth. They had yet to say a word about it even to each other. For now, they would deal with things their own way.

Echo dashed forward, dodging the Nuckelavee's arms as they shot out at her. She fired two arrows at the same time, impaling both of her opponent's arms into the ground and she landed on its shoulders, stabbing an arrow into its neck before somersaulting off and firing an explosive arrow at its face.

"Holy crap, that was awesome!" Perseus said. "But it's still alive. What the actual fuck does it take to kill this thing?"

"How much longer?" Mercury muttered to Emerald as they faced off against Athena and Xanthus.

"Ten minutes," Emerald said, glancing at her scroll.

"All right. Good call, by the way. Switching over to non-magnetic legs, I mean. They're not as tough as the real stuff, but they're lighter."

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay if we just focus on stalling them?"

Mercury chuckled.

"Hold still!" Hazel yelled as he missed another strike, pulverizing the ground instead of Penny.

"I don't think so!" Penny said, charging up an Ice Dust attack in her palm before unleashing it.

Hazel barely dodged the frosty attack before countering with his own, smashing the ground and sending a shockwave her way. She evaded with little effort.

 _They're holding back,_ she thought as she assessed the battlefield. Athena was busy exchanging blows with Mercury. Xanthus and Emerald were in a dead heat. _Why hasn't Emerald used her Semblance yet?_ She looked over to Echo and Perseus, who had just defeated the Nuckelavee and were headed to their teammates to give them support. Before they could get there, another combatant entered the fray, intercepting them.

"I was wondering when the queen bee would show her face," Penny said loudly.

"My, my," Cinder said, glancing at Penny's missing arm. "You've lost some weight, Penny."

"Says the one with only one eye. Long time no _see_ , Cinder Fall."

"Hazel, you handle the two kids. I'll take care of the one who likes to pretend to be human."

"Still more human than you, half-Grimm," Penny spat.

Cinder snickered before materializing both of her swords.

"Don't think you can take me on just because I'm missing an arm," Penny said as she materialized her own sword, Veritas.

"Oh, don't worry. I've seen you fight. I'm not stupid enough to let my guard down around you, Iron Maiden!"

 

* * * * *

 

"Two Nuckelavee Grimm?" Nora said, her mouth hanging open. "What the hell is going on? Aren't these supposed to be super rare or something?"

"Only two have ever been spotted in the wild," Yuan said. "We may be dealing with another Daemon."

"I'm sorry, a _what_?"

He and Ingrid gave them a quick rundown on what they went through not too long ago.

"Moloch?" Ren said.

"That was his name," Yuan said. "And he was strong enough to bite Penny's arm off."

"What?" Nora yelled.

"The only reason we won was because his body began to fall apart," Ingrid said. "Who knows how strong he could actually be, though."

"What is their goal?" Ren said. "Why here? Kuroyuri is strategically unimportant unless their goal was to disrupt trade, but with this many Grimm, it would make more sense to attack the capital directly."

Ingrid looked to the distance.

"See something?" Yuan asked her.

"I can't be sure," she said. "It looked like a person, but I don't know."

"I always love happy family reunions," an all-too-familiar voice sounded from behind them.

"Adam," Nora growled as they faced off.

"I've gotta say," he continued, "you definitely haven't been slacking off at all. You two have held your own for quite some time."

"What do you want, Adam?" Ren said.

"Well, mostly I was here to run a little interference, but that cute little cat Faunus you've got there just caught my eye."

"I'm sorry," Ingrid said, stepping forward, "do I know you?"

He grinned. "Not yet. My goodness, you are her spitting image. You could easily be sisters."

"What's he talking about?" Yuan muttered.

"You're still obsessed over Blake, huh?" Nora said. "Even after all these years?"

"Twenty years is a long time. I've come up with so many ways to torture her for what she did to me. I might start with her eldest daughter."

"Bring it, creep," Ingrid said.

"I was hoping you'd give me an invitation! Tyrian!"

Cackling came from above as someone landed amid the quartet, scattering them about.

"I've got you now!" Adam yelled as he grasped Ingrid by the throat.

Yuan was quick to her side, but Adam's incredible speed proved to be too much for him. Ingrid wasn't one to be taken down so easily, though. She projected two identical shadow clones, both of which attacked him from different directions. Their interference was enough to break his hold on her neck and she swung at him, missing his face by less than an inch.

"You have her spirit," Adam said with a smirk.

"Fuck you," Ingrid coughed. "What's your beef with my mom anyway?"

He momentarily closed his eyes in reflection. "Everything."

He vanished, moving faster than the human eye could see, overcoming both at once and driving his katana into Yuan's shoulder, rendering his right arm useless.

"Yuan!" Ingrid yelled before sending six explosive shadow clones at Adam, who quickly withdrew his sword to destroy all six, dodging every blast at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Ingrid said to Yuan as she knelt by his side.

"Be careful," he winced. "He's quick."

"Yuan!" Nora yelled out to him as she and Ren clashed weapons with Tyrian.

"You should pay attention to your own fight!" Tyrian yelled before striking with his tail, which Ren blocked before countering with gunfire.

"We were only supposed to be here to delay you," Adam began, "but seeing your face gets my blood pumping so hard."

"Creepy A.F. right now," Ingrid said.

Meanwhile, Yuan concentrated his aura on healing his wound. It wouldn't take too long, not with his unrivaled control over his aura, but every second counted right now. Thankfully, Adam was too enamored with the sound of his own voice, giving him the time to fully heal.

_Yuan._

He glanced to the right.

_Yuan._

"I am here," he said quietly.

Ingrid gave her companion a glance without taking her eyes off the pontificating Adam. Yuan was preoccupied with something, but she could not let her guard down, not against this opponent.

_What is it you desire?_

_My desire?_

_What is your wish, Yuan Ren of Kuroyuri?_

_Who are you?_

Yuan waited for an answer, but nothing came. He surmised that maybe he was hearing things, but that was more than a mere hallucination. It seemed to come from within and from all around at once.

"Yuan?" Ingrid whispered.

"Sorry," he whispered back. "I thought I was hearing things."

She snickered softly. "Yeah, he's starting to have that effect on me, too."

"As I was saying," Adam continued his speech, "mankind is not fit to rule over this world. The balance has shifted too far in one direction and the ecosystems are starting to strain. You've all seen it, the overcrowding of the cities, the depletion of natural resources."

"And you think you're fit to rule?" Nora yelled as she and Ren continued to clash with Tyrian.

"No, not I. There are beings far greater than us. They will bring order to this world that has become filled with chaos."

"Who the heck are you talking about?" Ingrid said.

He smiled. "I can't spoil all the surprises, can I?" He glanced at his watch. "Perfect. Tyrian, it's time to rejoin the others."

"Damn it," Tyrian spat. "I was just starting to have fun with these guys."

"But before we go," Adam began, reaching for his sword, "here's a parting gift!"

"No!" Ren yelled. "Look out!"

Adam moved with undetectable speed, swinging his sword straight at Yuan with the intent of severing his head, but something equally fast deflected his strike. It was another katana.

"Shit," he muttered, eyeing the new face emerging from the red portal.

"Hey, douche bag," Yang said as she walked onto the street from the gateway. "Mom, you missed his head."

"I wasn't aiming for his head," Raven said as she joined her daughter. Lucia and Aurora were also at their side. "Just what in the world are you doing here?"

"If it isn't the Spring Maiden," Adam said. "You're as quick as ever, despite your age."

"And you're as ugly as ever," Lucia said, "despite your mask."

"Quick to defend your last remaining tribesman, are you? It's too bad that girl didn't make it. What was her name again? Virginia or something?"

"Vernal," Yang said. "Don't forget the name."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't the one who took her down, so, sorry. If you do want a piece of her, Cinder's off that way fighting with the rest of your friends. In the meantime, I've gotta run. I definitely don't wanna be here when the fireworks start."

"The hell's he talking about?" Aurora muttered as he and Tyrian fled.

"Yang!" Nora yelled as she and Ren joined her along with Yuan and Ingrid.

"Hey, dudes," she replied. "You two all right?"

"It was good exercise," Ren said before he and Yang shared a high five.

"You two look like you've been through it," Raven said to Yuan and Ingrid.

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Ingrid said.

"Be careful with that bravado. Confidence is important, but you should be aware that Adam Taurus shares a long grudge with your mother. It's beyond personal for him."

"What exactly happened?" Ingrid said.

"Before we do story time," Lucia began, "we should probably figure out what Adam was talking about. And also kill all these goddamned Grimm."

"There was somebody lurking around over there," Ingrid said, pointing toward an alleyway. "At least, that's what I thought I saw earlier before creeptastic and the dude with the crazy hair attacked us."

"It's worth checking," Ren said, leading the way.

"Aurora, Lucia, perimeter together," Raven said.

"Roger," the two women said as they split from the rest of the group.

"That girl looks really young," Ingrid said.

"Yeah, that's Aurora," Yang said. "Remember her from the Vytal Festival?"

"Oh, right, the fourteen-year-old bounty hunter."

She chuckled. "That's her."


	21. The Brink

CHAPTER XXI

_The Brink_

 

The duel between Penny and Cinder was unlike anything the kids had ever seen before. They had had the privilege of watching her fight in the Vytal festival's exhibition match between Teams RWBY and JNPR, but the scale of this battle was off the charts. Despite missing her left arm, she was able to match Cinder pound for pound, even though the latter possessed the powers of a Maiden.

"Not bad for a one-armed robot!" Cinder scoffed as she hurled a fireball at Penny, who swiftly rolled out of the way before launching her own fiery attack at the Fall Maiden. "My, my, what technology can do for a girl. What happens when you run out of Dust in your tank, though?"

"Simple," Penny said, dashing in. "I beat you to death with my bare hands. Well, _hand_."

Perseus and Athena couldn't help but snicker at the correction.

"That's not cool," Xanthus said to them.

"What?" Athena said. "It was funny."

"Still not cool."

Team APEX took a break from fighting against Mercury, Emerald, and Hazel, who also seemed to stall for time. From what Penny had warned them about earlier, it wasn't as though they couldn't handle the youngsters. It was clear that their job here wasn't to kill them, but to delay them. For what, they had no idea.

"C'mon, then!" Perseus yelled to the trio. "Or are you old guys tired out already?"

Hazel held up a hand before hurling a ball of lightning at them, but Echo countered with an explosive arrow, canceling out his attack in midair.

"They're up to something," Athena said. "What, though?"

Xanthus looked off to the distance, spotting two unfamiliar faces approaching from the shadows. "Guard up, team," he said.

"Everything's ready," Adam said to Cinder as he and Tyrian joined the commotion at the outskirts of the town.

"Perfect," Cinder said with a grin before floating away to rejoin her group.

"Just what are you all planning?" Penny said.

"You'll see," Adam said. "In about ten seconds."

 

* * * * *

 

"Hey!" Yang shouted as she and Nora ran to a man in the middle of a massive runic circle etched into Kuroyuri's town square. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"That's," Ingrid began.

"A giant rune," Yuan muttered.

_Yuan._

_Who is that?_

"Take this!" Nora yelled, leaping up with her hammer overhead to crush the man in the middle of the gigantic geometric arrangement. The impact resulted in a powerful explosion that threw dust and debris everywhere, but when the cloud settled, everyone was shocked to see that the man had completely stopped her attack with just a hand.

"Nora!" Ren yelled. "Get away from him!"

The man glanced at the rest of the group before pointing a finger at Nora, making a flicking motion and sending her airborne. Ren managed to catch her, but she was flying at him too fast and they both crashed into a vendor booth.

"Mom!" Yuan shouted. "Dad!"

_Yuan._

_Damn it, who the hell are you?_

_You must choose now, Yuan Ren. You must choose which path you shall tread. Will you walk the path of light? Or will you choose to be an agent of the dark?_

_That's not even a question. Of course I choose light._

_Are you certain of this?_

"Everything is set," the man said aloud.

 

* * * * *

 

"Adam," Cinder said. "Weren't you and Tyrian supposed to stop the others from interfering with the ritual?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not stupid enough to take on the Spring Maiden," he said.

"I had a feeling their little posse would show up."

"You're free to get your payback whenever you want."

"No. Not today. If these guys we're dealing with are as tough as they think they are, they shouldn't even need your help."

"For a girl always on fire, you can be pretty fucking cold, you know that, Cinder?"

"I don't give a damn about them either," Tyrian said, checking on his stinger.

"They gave you a new tail, though, didn't they?" Emerald said.

"Yeah, and it's better than the one Watts made for me, but still. They're trying to replace my mistress. I won't accept anyone but her."

"You know she's not going anywhere, right?" Mercury said. "Nobody's stopping you from going to her corpse and living there for the rest of your life."

"Fuck you! She's not dead!"

"Dead, sealed, what's the difference?"

"The difference is she can still be revived," Hazel said.

"What's with your loyalty to that lady anyway?" Adam said. "Both of you guys. I mean, Tyrian, I can understand, since he's got issues. Watts, I get, too, cuz he's got ambition, and I guess he's a little fucked up in the head, too. But Hazel? You don't owe her shit. Your beef was with Ozpin."

"What about you?" Cinder said. "You were never loyal to her to begin with. You only joined us because it was convenient. Your only real goal was Faunus supremacy over the humans."

"Yeah, and when you figured out that she was gonna screw you over anyway," Mercury began, "you were gonna ditch us, weren't you?"

"I'm not loyal to anyone anymore," Adam said. "I've figured out that there's no one in the world to be loyal to. I'm doing what I do now only because I want to."

"So, basically," Cinder began, "you're still obsessed over that little kitten who left you behind for a monkey twenty years ago."

"Cinder, I'd watch my tongue if I were you."

"I'd burn you to death before you could even draw your sword."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Adam's katana was at her throat. Mercury and Emerald were quick to react, but Cinder was ahead of everyone. Her hand was already pointed at him. Only a thought separated Adam from incineration.

"Called my bluff, huh?" he said.

She smirked at him.

"Like you said," he sighed, sheathing his katana, "it's convenient. Sticking with this new crew will help me get to Blake Belladonna."

"Why haven't you kidnapped her eldest daughter, then?"

"What Azazel and them have planned for her is much more creative."

 

* * * * *

 

Ren, Nora, and the others watched with their guard up as the man in black put his hand to the ground, the very center of the rune circle. The writing and geometric lines began to glow, illuminating their immediate surroundings, turning night into day.

" _Ich rufe die Mächte von der anderen Seite an_ ," the man began to chant.

"What the hell is happening?" Yang said.

"Lucia!" Raven said into her headset.

A gunshot rang out in the distance, but the bullet impacted an invisible barrier surrounding the man, which glowed as it deflected the attack.

"Damn it, what is he up to?" Nora said.

" _Gewähre mir meinen Wunsch_ ," the chant continued. " _Erde, Feuer, Luft, Wasser, Licht, Dunkel. Mögen alle Elemente zusammenkommen. Nexus von Kuroyuri, erwache_!"

 

* * * * *

 

"Hey, what the hell is that?" Perseus yelled, pointing toward a pillar of light that shone into the heavens from the center of Kuroyuri.

Athena glanced over at Penny, whose visage was painted with dread as she gazed upon the great beam of energy. "I don't like the look on your face," she said to her instructor.

"That's..." Penny trailed off.

"Are you detecting something?" Xanthus asked.

Indeed she was. Her scanners hadn't picked up on anything like this since twenty years ago, and yet here it was. Whatever that pillar of light was, it was emitting every manner of particle unknown to modern science. There were particles blinking in and out of existence so quickly she could not process them.

"Penny?" Echo said nervously.

"S-Sorry," Penny said. "It's just...I haven't seen this since the war."

"You mean the Labyrinth War?" Perseus said.

She nodded. "I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen next, but I do remember that the last time these readings were like this, the face of the planet changed."

"Are you talking about the geological shifts?" Xanthus said.

"Yes."

But that wasn't the worst part. There was a bit of important information Penny withheld from the kids, that these readings also accompanied the emergence of a Labyrinth.

 

* * * * *

 

"Excellent," the man in black said, looking upward at the tremendous release of energy from the runic circle he had activated. "Everything is going according to plan."

Without another thought, Yang dashed at the man, sending blow after blow, but he dodged and blocked every single punch and kick she had to throw at him. Even her gauntlets' shotgun blasts had no effect. Ren also joined in the assault alongside Nora, but the trio of seasoned war heroes could not land a single blow on him. Raven was going to join the attack when the pillar of light began to flicker.

"What's happening now?" Ingrid yelled.

"Hmm," the man in black said as he continued to casually evade and dodge the attacks. "This one seems to be more powerful than the rest. Perhaps there are more ley lines converging here than we had previously ascertained. Regardless, it won't interfere. Neither will any of you."

A powerful pulse of energy erupted from his body and Ren, Nora, and Yang were all hurled back.

"What the heck is this guy?" Yang said.

"So, this is the power of a Daemon, is it?" Ren said.

The man turned to him.

"My son told me about one of your friends, a Daemon named Moloch.

"They faced Moloch and weren't devoured?" the man said. "Hmm. Yet another unfortunate event we did not anticipate. It seems the merge is still far from complete. His body must have failed him at the last instant. We must rethink our formulas."

"What are you jabbering about?" Nora said.

"My work here is complete."

"Hey, you're not just gonna run, are you?"

He began floating away.

"Hey! Get back here!"

"He's..." Yuan began.

"Flying?" Ingrid finished.

"This is not good," Raven said, looking up at the destabilizing beam of energy. "I think we need to run. Now."

"Mom!" Yang yelled. "Your Semblance! We gotta get out of here! Take us to...doesn't matter! Take us to dad or Uncle Qrow if you have to!"

Raven drew her sword, but before she could cut open a gateway leading to Tai, the pillar of light vanished, leaving behind what appeared to be sparkles of light.

"What's happening now?" Ingrid said, shielding her face against a wall of wind that bit at her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, the world around her had morphed. Kuroyuri had been replaced by a decrepit version of itself, the streets below broken, homes and businesses decaying and rusting. All of her companions were missing. She pulled out her scroll, but there was zero reception in this place.

"Great," she mumbled before breaking Shadow Blitz into dual sword form.

 _What in the world happened?_ she thought, recalling earlier discussions about the Labyrinth. She continued on, keeping her wits about her. Her Faunus senses alerted her to several things in the distance, beyond what her eyes could see. This darkness was impenetrable, even to her heightened eyesight.

 _What is with this?_ she thought. _The sky is dark red, but there's no light down here, and I can barely see past fifteen yards. But there's something out there. Definitely something out there._

Whatever it was breathed with raspy labor. Some other sound accompanied each breath, something guttural, almost sickening. Ingrid decided to get closer to try and get a better look at the thing and when she finally came within visual range, she had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping aloud. Grotesque was the closest word to describe it. From what she could tell, it had no eyes, at least not where they should have been.

She jumped over a nearby barrier to hide from it when it threw its hands out in her direction. She realized just why; its palms contained its eyeballs, but more than one per hand. There seemed to be no logic to the number of eyeballs per hand. The left had two while the right had several, enough to dizzy her as she tried to count.

When it failed to locate her, the monster continued on down the street. Ingrid remained in place for some time, leaning against the wall to try and process what she was going through. She had spoken with Athena and Echo in private about their experience in the other world during their battle with Moloch, the Daemon, but they had been mostly secretive about it. One thing that stood out to her, though, was the difference in time passage, or at least perceived time passage, and the presence of otherworldly monsters that were even more frightening than the Grimm.

 _Frightening is an understatement,_ she thought before gathering her wits and continuing on.

 

* * * * *

 

_Yuan._

"What do you want from me?" Yuan said aloud into the darkness.

_Yuan._

"I am here!"

_What is it you desire?_

"You already asked me that question!"

_And you have yet to give me an answer._

While that was true, it seemed pointless. He figured he was only hallucinating the voice, but—

_No, Yuan Ren, you are not imagining me._

"Then, tell me who you are. Tell me _what_ you are."

_The true question is, who are you?_

"What?"

Yuan turned around to face a mirror on the wall. His reflection stared back at him, though it did not reflect his movements.

"What is this?"

"You are about to face your greatest trial," his mirror image said. "Whether you can triumph is entirely up to you."

"You aren't my reflection. What exactly are you?"

Without answering, the apparition vanished, followed by the shattering of the mirror. His surroundings morphed, placing him in close proximity to Ingrid. He called out her name, running to her, but she did not seem to hear or see him.

"Ingrid?" he said, reaching out to her. His hand passed right through. "Am I..." he began, looking at his hand, "...am I dead?"

_No. Your bond brought you here, to her._

"What am I supposed to be doing?"

_Search for it inside yourself, Yuan Ren. You must discover who you truly are before you are swallowed by the darkness forever._

 

* * * * *

 

"Interesting."

"It's the same as with the others. Moloch opened up a gateway into the Labyrinth for the other two to pass into and they also had very high resistance to its influences. Had it not been for that bit of interference from the girl, they might have succumbed, but something tells me they might have maintained their constitution."

"Have I ever told you that you are so sexy when you talk to me all technical like that."

She giggled. "You always think that way of me."

"Hmm. What do you think? Should we get involved?"

"That's up to you. You're our leader, after all. Frankly, I'm interested in how the boy is going to respond. The darkness in him is growing, as it is with all of them. If they end up succumbing to it, we'll be unstoppable. But if they end up taming the darkness and utilizing it instead, our work will be much more difficult to accomplish."

"Au contraire, I think it'll provide a bit more fun."

"I had a feeling you'd say that."

"I'm serious. We've been unchallenged for the last twenty years it's getting boring. Honestly, those two superpowers are the only ones who can rise against us, but one is sealed away and the other refuses to use his full power. The Maidens could also pose a slight threat if they caught us off-guard."

"Of course, there's also the Schildmaid."

"Yeah, but I don't think she'll get involved. Not until it's too late, anyway. One on one, she could probably kill any of us. That's without Durandal. If she were to grab that sword, though, Salem would be free and she'd be fighting a two-front war."

"Or it becomes a free for all."

"Hmm."

"Don't tell me you want to release her prematurely."

"Of course not. I like to have my fun, but I'm not an idiot."

"Samael would disagree."

"Well, that's cuz he's a stick in the mud. That's why I like you, Tamiel."

She grinned before stroking his neck and upper back.

"See? Samael never does this kind of thing for me."

"Your fascination with these children is contagious, Azazel. I wish to see how they cope with the Darkness inside them as well."

"That's my girl."

 

* * * * *

 

"So," Adam said. "This is a Labyrinth, is it?"

"First time in one?" Cinder said.

"Yup. I know you've been going in and out with your boyfriend—"

"Fuck you."

"Hey, I'm not one to judge interspecies relationships."

"You're treading on thin ice here, Adam."

He shrugged. "Anyway, yeah, this is my first time."

"Stay close to me."

They all turned to the man in black. His face was always severe. Today was no exception.

"This is the...third layer, right?" Emerald said, looking around.

"That is correct," the man in black said. "Unlike the two layers above, this place poses the greatest risk to you mortals. Should you find yourself too far from my influence, you would surely be swallowed up."

"I'm not into the whole vore shit," Mercury said. "Consider me convinced." He glanced at Tyrian. "Something tells me he'd enjoy being stuck in here, though."

"The Fall Maiden is also capable of maintaining her essence here," the man in black said. "Her power is sturdy enough to resist the Labyrinth."

"Hey," Adam said, turning to Cinder. "You busy?"

"Yeah, a little," she said with an eye-roll.

"Hey, uh, mister Daemon guy, you don't mind if I go and grab that girl, do you?"

"That is not part of our plans," he said.

"Don't look at me," Cinder said. "I'm not helping you with shit."

"C'mon. Don't be like that."

"On second thought," the man in black said, approaching him. "You may proceed. I shall accompany you."

"Why the change of heart?" Mercury said.

"The rest of you kick it with Cinder," Adam said. "I'll be quick."

"Hazel, go with him," Cinder said. "Keep him in line."

"I'm sorry, keep _me_ in line?"

"Who knows what you'll do as soon as you get your hands on her."

 

* * * * *

 

 _Great,_ Ingrid thought, trying to control her breathing as she hid from more of those unsightly horrors. She had killed a number of them, but they seemed to manifest from out of nowhere endlessly. Her own strength and stamina would only last for so long and she needed the respite.

She peeked from around the corner, finding a small opening to break through. It wouldn't be easy to stay hidden, though. Some of the monsters had hearing that rivaled her own Faunus senses.

"Found you."

Ingrid gasped as someone grabbed her tightly from behind, covering her mouth, though that was pointless since she wasn't exactly going to scream out loud with all of those monsters out there. Then again, that might be a good idea right about now. She bit the hand restraining her before shouting as loud as she could.

"You idiot! Now they're gonna come after us!"

She kicked away from Adam before engaging the monsters herself, fighting to put some distance between herself and her would-be captors. Unfortunately, Adam and Hazel were far too strong for the monsters to take on and she found herself trapped once again.

"Relax, kitty," Adam said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Do you think I'm stupid or something?" she growled.

"Of course not. You got your wits from your mom, after all."

"What's with your obsession with her anyway?"

"Just a grudge. Nothing more."

"Yeah, right."

 

* * * * *

 

"Why can't I get through to her?" Yuan yelled. "What is happening?"

"What is it you desire, Yuan Ren?"

He turned to face an exact replica of himself.

"What is your wish?"

"Isn't it clear?" he said. "I want to save Ingrid."

"At what cost?"

"Any cost. I don't care. I only wish to keep her safe."

"I can give you that power."

Yuan hesitated. "What's the price?"

"Did you not just say that the cost did not matter to you?"

He didn't answer.

"There is no cost. You only need to embrace the part of yourself which you have discarded into the depths of your being."

"The...depths of my being?"

"Yes. I am that which lies dormant deep within you. I am your Shadow, the part of you which you deny, the part of you which holds your deepest, darkest wishes."

"My...wishes?"

The apparition nodded.

"You're saying that embracing my darkness will give me the power to save Ingrid?"

"You said that no price was too high for you."

"But..."

"Allow me to demonstrate."

The landscape shifted, revealing a massive horde of countless unsightly monsters. Yuan began to panic, gripping his weapon tightly, but his apparition stepped out between him and the nightmarish creatures.

"This is the power you have within you."

The apparition held out a hand, showcasing a dark colored rune, which glowed as a black cloud descended upon the army of monsters, dissolving a large group of them. The remaining creatures attacked, but another spell from the dark rune on the man's hand, a thing which could only be called a black hole, swallowed the attackers.

"This is the power you can wield, Yuan Ren. Only if you embrace this side of you. Only if you embrace me."

"My...darkest desires..."

"That is correct. Everything you deny."

The apparition put a hand on his shoulder and he was instantly flooded with every single thought he would never admit aloud, the lust he bore for Ingrid, the hatred he harbored for his enemies, and his desire to unleash this frightening power that lay dormant deep within his soul. Indeed, with this new power, there was nothing out of reach for him. No one in all of Remnant would have the power to keep him away from the one he loved.

"No," he said, backing away. "This isn't right."

"You should not be ashamed of your desires, Yuan Ren."

"It's not shame. It's temperance. It's knowing better than to harm others just to gain an advantage."

"You would deny this power?"

"I'll admit that it may have its uses, but if this will corrupt me to the extent that I forget why I love Ingrid in the first place, I'd rather die trying to save her my own way. And besides. I wouldn't want her seeing me like this."

"You would throw away a perfectly good opportunity for a foolish sense of purity?"

"I would."

"If that is your will."

Yuan turned to Ingrid, who screamed and flailed as Adam restrained her.

"If you do not act now, you may lose her forever."

"I won't lose her. I'll find some other way to get to her."

"Is this truly your desire?"

Yuan faced his apparition, looking it straight in the eye. "If I were to use this dark magic to save her, she would never look at me the same way ever again. I might save her life, but I would lose her heart. Hurting her is the last thing I would want to do."

The apparition smiled before morphing into an unfamiliar face. "Well done, Yuan Ren. You have conquered your own Shadow." With that, he vanished.

"Huh?"

"Hey!" Adam yelled at him. "When the hell did you get here?"

"Yuan!" Ingrid cried out.

"Ingrid?" Yuan said. "You can see me?"

"Hazel, can you hold on to her for me?" Adam said, handing her off. "I'm gonna finish what I started. Looks like you care about this boy a lot. I'm gonna start by carving him up right in front of you."

"You stay away from him you son of a bitch!" Ingrid said, struggling to break free, but Hazel's grip on her was iron.

"Sorry, kid," Adam said, marching at Yuan. "If you weren't involved with her, I wouldn't have to torture you to death."

"I'd like to see you try," Yuan said as he readied his Ji halberd, Heaven Scorcher, for battle.

Adam's first strike barely missed Yuan's neck. The younger one countered with a spear generated out of his aura, but Adam saw the attack coming and managed to deflect the strike before moving on the offensive again.

 _Whoa,_ Ingrid thought as she watched the battle unfold. Adam was no longer toying with him the way he was earlier, but she could swear that Yuan was moving much faster than he was before. He was capable of matching all of Adam's swings, evading and moving just as adeptly.

"What, were you holding back on me earlier?" Adam said.

"I could say the same to you!" Yuan said before leaping up for a powerful overhead strike.

"What an obvious move," Adam said, bringing up his katana to block, but as they clashed blades, the head of Yuan's weapon transformed before zapping him with lightning. "Not bad, kid. Can't say I saw that one coming."

"And now, the finishing blow," Yuan said before charging at him.

Adam grinned as he concentrated the power of Yuan's previous attack into his Semblance, Moonslice. The amount of force he had just taken into his sword was more than enough to overwhelm all of Yuan's defenses.

"Yuan!" Ingrid yelled. "No! Stop!"

"Too late!" Adam said as he swing his katana at the boy, slicing right through his weapon and his flesh.

Ingrid's eyes were wide open as Yuan fell to his knees, dropping both halves of Heaven Scorcher as he gripped his abdomen, which bled profusely.

"Yuan!" she screamed.

_Yuan Ren._

"Who...who is that?" he mumbled.

"What, are you hallucinating already?" Adam said.

_You have proven yourself to be pure of heart. Had you accepted my power for your own selfish reasons, I would have consumed your soul and taken over your mind by force. However, I see now that you truly have what it takes to wield such unimaginable power as that of a Wraith._

_W...Wraith?_

_That is correct. I am Sir Elyan, Wraith-Knight of Kameloth, servant to Arthur the Pendragon of Albion. Do you, Yuan Ren, wish to wield my power to protect the ones you love? Will you uphold the knight's code of justice, honor, valor, and mercy?_

_I...I do so swear._

_Then, stand tall and proud, Sir Yuan Ren, for unto thee I shall grant my spirit and my power. Let this moment bind us now and until the end of time!_

"I'll put you out of your misery!" Adam yelled as he brought his katana down upon Yuan's head.

"Yuan!" Ingrid screamed at the top of her lungs.

"What?" Adam grunted as his sword impacted an invisible barrier. Yuan looked up at him. His irises were ringed with golden halos of light, radiating a power borne from another world, a place of pure and unbroken magic.

"Adam!" the man in black yelled. "Back away from him! Now!"

Yuan began to scream, a scream born from an indescribable power that tore away at his very soul, supplanting what constituted Yuan Ren with a new existence, a new being, the Wraith-Knight Sir Elyan combined with the young man known as Yuan Ren, the young man who vowed to be the shield that protects all of Remnant.

"I swear..." Yuan groaned as the shadowy power erupted from within his core. "I swear it! I swear to be the shield which guards Remnant from all who threaten her!"

"Yes!" a voice echoed throughout the landscape. "Let Sir Elyan and Yuan Ren no longer exist as separate beings! You and I, we shall be one henceforth! Together, we shall lay waste to those who threaten the light! Wield my Shadow, Yuan Ren, and destroy your enemies!"

 Yuan let out another cry of agony as the shadowy presence ripped his body apart, exploding into a black sphere of energy.

 

* * * * *

 

"What the hell is happening?" Athena said as she and Echo shielded their faces from the windstorm that manifested out of nowhere.

"Unbelievable," Penny said. "Yuan is...he's influencing the very fabric of space-time."

"What do you mean?" Xanthus said.

"Perseus!" Echo yelled, running to him.

"Where have you been?" Athena said, kneeling beside him.

Perseus looked up at his team, his eyes forlorn.

"Don't tell me..." Echo trailed off.

"It's okay, Perseus," Athena said. "Whatever you saw, it's all over. It's really us."

He let out a small chuckle before retreating back into himself. Meanwhile, Penny continued to gawk at the enormous power growing in the distance, rearranging the Labyrinth as it permeated the ether. In less than a minute, everyone was together again, removed from their separate Labyrinths and gathered around the emerging Wraith-Knight.

"Yuan?" Nora cried out as her son continued to scream, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on?" Ren said.

"Is that what I think it is?" Yang said, pointing to the black whirlwind between them and Cinder's group.

"What the hell is happening?" Cinder shouted over the tempest.

"All of you, maintain your distance," the man in black said. "I will be the one to take on the Wraith-Knight."

"Did he say 'Wraith-Knight'?" Mercury said.

"Son of a bitch," Adam said, rejoining them. "That was a close one."

Maniacal laughter began to sound from the center of the storm as the force began to materialize into something tangible, something most decidedly human in physical appearance. The young man, Yuan Ren, who had just been ripped to shreds by the unfathomable power, was now standing between both groups, face stern, all of his clothing turned black with the energy that seeped from his pores.

"Yuan!" Ingrid cried out.

"Stay back!" Penny shouted to her. "That's not Yuan anymore!"

"What are you talking about?" Athena said.

"That's..."

"A Wraith," Ren and Nora said together.

Yuan glanced at his parents before vanishing from sight, reappearing beside Ingrid.

"Ingrid!" Penny yelled, but before she could even move, he had grasped her and vanished with her in tow, reappearing right beside them.

"Mom, dad," his voice echoed. "Could you look after her for me?"

His parents exchanged glances before nodding.

"Thanks. I'll be right back."

They all watched in awe as Yuan began marching toward the enemy group, the black smoke still radiating from his body.

"So," Adam said, marching out to meet him. "What else are you hiding under your sleeves?"

Yuan grinned before vanishing. Adam only barely managed to draw his sword to block a strike from the left, but when he turned to face Yuan, he had no weapon in his hands. All around him were numerous spears of blackened light, each one aimed directly at him.

"Holy shit," Yang mumbled.

The spears of darkness hurled forth, causing an explosion with their impact. Adam was saved from the conflagration, however. Cinder had moved in to rescue him.

"Don't think this makes you my friend," he said.

"I'm not saving you for your sake," she said. "You're still useful to us."

"Tch."

"The rest of you, flee this place with Cinder," the man in black said. "I will hold off the Wraith-Knight."

"You want us to run?" Tyrian said.

"None of you stand a chance against an ancient being of magic. I alone can match his strength."

"No argument from me," Mercury said before running with the others to rendezvous with Cinder, who led the way to the edge of the Labyrinth.

"Sir Elyan, Knight of Kameloth!" the Daemon called out, materializing a great sword in his hands.

"Daemon of War," Yuan replied as he materialized his own weapon, the Heaven Scorcher, in his hand.

"So, thou dost remember me."

"How could I forget? We clashed swords many times on many battlefields for eternities upon eternities."

"And it seems even on this world we are destined to meet on the battlefield."

"Where are your brothers and sisters?"

"I must ask the same of you, O Knight of Kameloth. Where are your fellow Wraith-Knights?"

"Soon, they, too, shall awaken. And together, we shall rid this world of you."

"You were unable to save Ecumene, Sir Elyan. You shall fail to save Remnant as well."

"Enough idle chatter. Let our weapons do the singing!"

"For once, we agree!"

The scale of the battle between the Wraith-Knight and the Daemon was unlike anything any of the youngsters had seen before. Only the previous generation was familiar to the explosions generated by the clash of blades between these two ancient beings of magic. Each shockwave slowly tore away at the very fabric of reality, conjuring earthquakes and windstorms of epic proportions.

"It's just like with Weiss and Bedivere!" Nora yelled over the chaos.

"No, that was still way worse," Yang said. "I mean, this comes close, but these guys aren't using those two swords."

"Yang's right," Ren said. "What Yuan and the Daemon are doing now certainly is quite formidable, but it hardly comes close to what we witnessed twenty years ago."

"I don't care about any of that," Athena said, her mouth open. "That, right there, that shit, is fucking awesome."

"I concur," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses.

This was all too familiar to Echo. This was the same kind of power she had felt a few days ago, when she was stuck in her own Labyrinth. She had run out of arrows, and yet she fired _something_ , an arrow of light that tore away at her enemies. The spears of energy Yuan manifested around his body from time to time to hurl against the Daemon were no different.

Perseus shivered and Echo turned to him.

"Hey," she said, gently rubbing his back. "You're okay now."

_No. It'll never be okay. This is all my fault._

" _Teufelsatem_!" the Daemon yelled, hurling a fireball at Yuan.

" _Frostatem_!" Yuan said, countering with a blast of cold air and putting out the fireball.

"Yo, your boy's got magic," Yang mumbled to Ren and Nora.

"Uh-huh," Nora said vacuously.

"Yuan has a Wraith in him?" Ren said.

"I don't think so," Penny said.

"What are you detecting?" Raven asked her.

"This is way different than with Bedivere's Wraith. His Wraith had identical waveforms to him. Yuan and this, uh, Sir Elyan, have differing waveforms, although they're synchronizing really well. It's almost like two souls are bonding in his body."

"You mean my son's possessed?" Nora said.

Penny shook her head. "It's not possession. It's...union."

"Damn!" the Daemon cursed as he lost his footing.

"Perish, Daemon!" Yuan cried out before hurling Heaven Scorcher, which impacted its target with a blast that leveled the surrounding area, pulverizing the concrete at the epicenter.

"He did it!" Nora yelled.

"Wait," Ren said.

The debris cleared away, revealing the Daemon still standing unscathed. Around him was a semi-transparent barrier.

"Damn, that dude is tough," Athena said.

"Moloch was hard to deal with, too," Xanthus said. "And this one seems stronger, so I guess it's not surprising, although how much more powerful _is_ he if Yuan's attack couldn't even break through his shield?"

"Impressive," the Daemon said, looking up at Yuan as the latter re-manifested Heaven Scorcher back in his hand. "I'm afraid this battle is over, however. I have more important things I need to attend to."

"You're fleeing again, Daemon?" Yuan said.

"Consider it sparing you and your friends." He began floating from the ground. "Know this, young man. You have no idea what you've done by forging a pact with that Wraith-Knight."

"Better a Wraith-Knight than a Daemon."

"Hardly a difference between us."

"If you say so."

"We will meet again, Knight of Kameloth."

"No. I'm a Knight of Remnant."

"So be it."

With that, the Daemon vanished into thin air. Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, it was fortunate that the fight ended when it did. He was on the verge of losing control over this new power that Sir Elyan bestowed upon him.

"Yuan!" Ingrid yelled as she ran to him.

"Ingrid! Keep your distance!" Penny said.

Ignoring her words, Ingrid kept running. If this really was a dark power that Yuan was wielding, she needed to make sure he wasn't doing it alone. No one should ever have to walk through the shadows alone.

"Yuan!" she called out again, slowing down before stopping a few paces away from him.

Yuan turned around to face her. His body continued to radiate those black wisps of smoke, the dark force that had taken over his very soul. But something was different about it. When he had first made physical contact with his Shadow, it had flooded his heart with all manner of deplorable sensation, but none of that was present now. He was serene, odd considering the blackness that seeped from his pores.

"Yuan..." Ingrid mumbled.

"Are you..." he began, "...are you all right?"

She hesitated before giving him a single nod.

He let himself smile. "I'm glad."

"Are _you_ all right, Yuan?"

He nodded. "All I wanted was to see you safe."

"I am."

There was a moment of silence between them. Ingrid took a step toward him and stopped. She gazed into his eyes. The jade color was barely visible behind the golden rings of light that bordered his irises.

"Yuan," she said quietly.

"It's okay," he said. "If...if this is too much for you, you don't have to—"

She shook her head before marching toward him, stopping a foot away to look up into his eyes. Up close like this, the halos of light looked like golden flames emerging outward from his pupils. She took his hands in hers and held on to them for a while. Slowly, the black smoke faded away and his eyes stopped glowing, revealing their true, jade color.

"You're...you're back," she said.

"I've always been here," he said. "I never left."

"But..."

"Yuan!" Penny said as she and the others ran to them. "Are you, well, you know, _you_?"

He nodded with a smile. "I've been me all this time."

"But, then," Nora began, "what was with that 'Sir Elyan' crap?"

"I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to leave the Labyrinth."

"How...do we do that, exactly?" Raven said.

"Everyone stay close to me."

The group did as he told. He closed his eyes, looking up to the sky as he exerted his will over this world. Layer by layer, they ascended the Labyrinth. The darkness gave way to the foggy second layer before they found themselves in the clear first layer. Ultimately, they were back in the streets of Kuroyuri.

"How...?" Ren mumbled.

"Hey, I ain't complainin'," Yang said before marching over to Lucia and Aurora, who had been silent the whole time. "Did you two go through your own Labyrinth shit?"

Both nodded.

"I had a feeling that was the case."

"We're all right, though," Lucia said. "I managed to find her while we were in there."

"You broke through the manifestations?" Raven said.

"Yeah. Wasn't our first time, remember?"

"Of course." She put her hands on Aurora's shoulders. "You did well, young one."

"Thank you..." Aurora managed.

"Okay," Nora said, turning to Yuan. "I think we need to go over some stuff."

 

* * * * *

 

Ren knelt before the monument they had erected at the town square. The vaults, despite having been filled with the entire populace, were completely empty, devoid of any life. According to Penny's deductions, they may have been dragged into the Labyrinth as well, only none of them were able to escape.

"I've failed," Ren mumbled.

Nora knelt beside him.

"I failed our town."

"Shh," she said, leaning against him as she held his hand. "That's enough."

"They were all counting on me to keep them safe. And I couldn't."

"Look, Ren, it's not like any of us had the power to fight against something like that Daemon guy and the Labyrinth."

"Yeah," Yuan said, joining his parents. "If you wanna blame somebody, blame me. If only I had come to this power sooner, I would've been able to prevent this."

"Shut up, Yuan," Athena said. "There's no way you could've even known about that shit."

"Still—"

"I said shut up. No one here is to blame for what happened. Only those Daemons and Cinder and her people."

Ren and Nora stood up.

"We're going with you," Ren said.

"To Mistral," Nora added.

"Are you sure?" Yang said.

"Yeah," Ren said. "There's no point in us staying here. And besides." He turned to his son. "I think it's good for us to stick together. We have a new enemy we're up against."

"He's right," Raven said. "It's best for us not to separate."

"To Mistral," Nora said. "Just like old times."

"Heh," Yang chuckled. "I wonder if we'll see Ruby and Blake and Weiss again, too. Oh, and Jaune."

"You're awful," Ren said. "How could you forget about him?"

"How could both of you forget about Sun?" Penny said, sparking a bout of chuckles from the group.

As the party marched in the direction of Mistral, Echo lagged behind with Perseus, whose demeanor had been different since the Labyrinth.

"What did you see in there?" she asked him.

He glanced at his teammate before turning back to the horizon, watching as the sun peeked past.

"Is everything all right?"

"Echo," he said, slowly turning to her. "I've done something...something really, really bad."

She gave him a quizzical look. "What could be so bad that you'd go through it in a Labyrinth?"

"There's something I need to tell all of you." He paused. "It's about Lilly."


	22. Interloper

CHAPTER XXII

_Interloper_

 

Ivory couldn't believe her eyes. In about as much time as it takes to blink, her surroundings had transformed. Qrow and everyone else had vanished without a trace, leaving her alone in an empty world. She stood up to survey the restaurant, heading outside to investigate the boardwalk. As busy as the promenade had once been, it was now devoid of souls. She was the only one here as far as the eye could see.

 _What in the world is going on?_ she thought as she drew Elfenbein, ready for any threats she might face. It didn't take long for her to come to the realization that she might be in one of those so-called Labyrinths, though she had no way of determining one way or the other.

She decided to explore for some time, wandering through streets and alleyways. It seemed the entire world was devoid of any life except for plants. The occasional breeze was the only sound aside from her own footsteps. She made her way to the Lyon Manor, which was a short distance from Haven Academy. From what she could tell, the school was just as empty as the rest of the city. As expected, the manor was also devoid of life, but as she walked through, she could swear that she had brushed past someone all too familiar.

 _Leon?_ she thought.

 

* * * * *

 

"Ivory!" Leon shouted as he walked into the foyer of the Lyon Family mansion.

"The hell makes you think she's here?" Astor said.

"I don't...I don't know. I just..."

Astor watched his old friend. "Hey, man, real talk. Are you in love with her?"

"Wh-What? No! What the hell!"

"I'm just saying, bro. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it. Honestly, I don't mind us being brothers."

"Astor, dammit! This isn't the time!"

"Yeah, I can see that. Grab your shit, let's follow my dad to the Forge."

 

* * * * *

 

"Is there anything we can do?" Winter asked Hillphire as she paced back and forth.

"Please bear in mind that this technology is still in its infancy," he said. "The furthest we've managed is detecting potential rifts."

"Rifts?" Hollie said. "You mean, like, the likeliest points to cross over?"

"That's right, regions where the veil between this world and the world of the Labyrinth is thinnest."

"Wait a sec," Qrow began, "that wouldn't happen to be the reason why the city has cordoned off certain areas for no apparent reason, would it?"

"That's exactly correct. I brought my findings to the Mistral Council and they found it appropriate to take such measures. My hypothesis is that these rifts are where people tended to mysteriously vanish, being unwittingly drawn into the Labyrinth."

"Hon, you didn't know about this?" Qrow said to Hollie.

"First I've heard of it," she said. "I probably wasn't at that council meeting."

"I don't recall you being there," Hillphire said. "Anyway, as I said, there's no way for us to cross over intentionally. The few experiments we have been willing to do had our test subjects linger around the rift points, but none of them have been pulled to the other side. At least, not during active experimentation and observation. Fortunately, after quarantining the rift points, the missing persons cases decreased in number. We haven't eliminated them completely as the rifts seem to move around. Some of the known rifts have even vanished."

"So, points of space-time instability," Winter began, "which can then re-stabilize depending on conditions."

"Precisely. Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine just what causes such instability to begin with, nor is it possible to forcefully stabilize or destabilize points in space."

"It's random?" Hollie said.

"That's how it appears, but something tells me that it's not random at all."

"We're here!" Leon said as he and Astor burst into the section of the Hillphire Innovations compound that had once been Hillphire's Forge twenty years ago. This remained his own personal space where he had the freedom to work on his own projects independent of the rest of the company. It was also where he spent his alone time.

"Mom, dad, is everything cool?" Astor said to his parents.

"Yeah, kiddo," Qrow said. "Will was just filling us in on our options."

"And?"

"And it doesn't look like we can do much."

Leon marched over to Hillphire. "Is there really nothing we can do?" he pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Hillphire said. "Crossing over is simply beyond our means right now."

"Why don't we head to one of these rifts?" Hollie said. "I mean, given our luck, at least one of us will get sucked into that other world again."

Qrow sighed. "You do remember what you went through the first time you crossed over, right?"

She looked down at the ground. "Yes, I do. But that doesn't matter. Ivory needs our help. And I'm not gonna let you lose her when you've only just reconciled with her, you dumbass!"

He flinched.

"Winter," Leon said, standing in front of her with his head down. "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect Lilly or Ivory."

"That's enough of that, Leon Rose," Winter said, her voice stern and authoritative. "I won't have you blaming yourself for things you have no power over."

"But—"

"I said that's enough!"

He didn't answer, instead squeezing his eyes shut and balling his fists in anger at himself.

"Hold your head up high, young man. You are heir to a legacy that deserves honor, not this apprehension and timidity. Your father was squire to Sir Bedivere, Knight of Kameloth and your mother has the power to make the Grimm flee in terror at the mere mention of her name."

Slowly, he managed to do as she commanded, standing tall and proud, though he could not excise from the back of his mind the dire need to find Ivory.

"That's better." She turned to Hillphire. "Where is the nearest rift?"

"Uh, not that far from here," he said as he typed away at a nearby terminal. "Two blocks due east of here, in the outer section of the city."

"Okay. Gear up, everyone, we're going dimension hopping."

 

* * * * *

 

Ivory froze as she heard what sounded like sobbing. She followed the sound, eventually coming across a little girl and a little boy, both of them crying and intermittently mumbling for their parents.

"Excuse me," she said.

The two children gasped, cowering away from her.

"No, don't be afraid," she said, sheathing her weapon and stooping over, holding out a hand. "I'm not here to hurt you. Are you both lost?"

They nodded.

"What happened to you?"

"We were," the boy began with a sob, "walking through the park, and then, and then..."

"And then we got separated from mom and dad," the girl continued, "but we haven't seen anyone since. You're the first person we've seen in hours."

"Hours?" Ivory said.

They nodded.

"I see. My name is Ivory Schnee. What are yours?"

At the sound of her name, the two youngsters' eyes widened.

"Ivory Schnee?" the little girl said.

"You mean the Blizzard Princess of the North?" the boy said.

"The one who won the Vytal Festival Tournament?"

Ivory smiled. "That's me."

"Cool!" they said together.

"But, your hair is different from back then," the young girl said.

"Yeah, that's a long story."

"I think it looks cool!" the boy said.

"Yeah!" the girl said.

Ivory chuckled. "What are your names?"

"I'm Kohaku!" the boy said.

"And I'm Ayako!" the girl said.

"Those are both really pretty names," Ivory said, making the girl giggle.

"You have a pretty name, Kohaku!" Ayako said.

"No, I don't!" he said, crossing his arms.

"What's wrong with having a pretty name?" Ivory said.

"Pretty is for girls, not boys!"

"Boys can have pretty names, too."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you know any boys with pretty names?"

Ivory reddened as a face flashed into her mind. "Well, his name is kinda average, although I guess it sorta refers to courage or something, but he's a real pretty-boy."

"Is he?" Ayako said.

Ivory felt her face getting even warmer.

"I bet you like him, don't you?"

"Okay, we're changing the subject now," Ivory growled.

The kids gave each other high-fives while giggling.

"I'm glad you two are happy. Come, let's look for your parents."

"I don't know if we'll find them," Kohaku said, his mood instantly dropping. "We've been wandering around for hours and we haven't run into a single person."

"Except you," Ayako said.

"Hey, that's a start, isn't it?" Ivory said.

"I guess."

"Stick close to me. If you see anything weird, don't run, okay? I'll be able to protect you as long as you're nearby."

"Okay," they both said.

_Although, to be honest, I have no idea where to even begin._

 

* * * * *

 

Leon sighed as the whole group lingered around the area Hillphire had pointed out. It had been a half hour since they entered the so-called rift, yet nothing happened.

"This _is_ the place, right?" Leon said.

"Compose yourself," Winter said.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Hillphire?"

"I'm checking out my readings and it's still positive," he said, examining an arm-mounted monitor on his powered armor suit. He looked up as his teammates, Jerry Brimstone and Sara Windfield, also flew in with their powered armor.

"Oh, that is sick," Astor said. "How much for one of those?"

"Way more than your allowance, kid," Jerry said before retracting his whole suit into compact mode.

"Any luck?" Sara asked Hillphire.

"If anything's going to happen, it'll happen here," he said. "But as I told the others, the rifts' behavior is seemingly random."

"Random it is," Qrow said. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

The rest of the group turned to him.

"Astor?" Hollie called out.

"Leon!" Winter said.

"Did they just get sucked in?" Jerry said. "Holy crap, you weren't kidding about the whole random thing. We're all standing right here and only the two of them get sucked in?"

"I didn't even pick up any fluctuations in the readings," Sara said.

"Neither did I," Hillphire said. "Did anyone actually see them vanish?"

"Nope," Qrow said. "I turned and they were gone. And I'm pretty sure they wouldn't just fucking leave, not when they were both itching to find Ivory, especially Leon."

"Heh," Winter chuckled.

"What is it?" Hollie asked her.

"It's just like back then, isn't it? Once again, we're relying on children to win the war."

"It was different when it was us," Hillphire said. "But now that it's the next generation, I think I know how you and Qrow felt."

"Excuse me?" Winter said. "Please do not ever again refer to me as 'old'."

"I, uh, I did not mean—"

"You done messed up, Willy!" Jerry said with a heavy slap to his back.

 

* * * * *

 

"So, this is the park?" Ivory asked the two kids, who nodded. "And you were walking...right here?"

"Yeah," Ayako said. "That's where we last saw them."

"Where we last saw _anyone_ ," Kohaku added.

"Hmm. This must be a point of high dimensional instability."

"Huh?"

"Sorry, just thinking aloud." _If the Labyrinth truly is a parallel reality, there must be weak points in the wall between it and the real world. This might be one of those weak points, but there's no way for me to determine this or even cross through to the other side._ "Where exactly were you guys standing?"

The two kids stood to her left.

"Here," Ayako said. "We were walking with mom and dad when—"

Right before Ivory's very eyes, the two children vanished. She looked around with alarm before calming herself back down.

 _Okay,_ she thought as she sighed to herself. _It's either they just got pulled back into the real world or..._ She shook her head. "No, they're fine. They're in the real world now."

She had to believe that. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night. She wondered how Lilly dealt with such things with such regularity. She wondered if Lilly even had to deal with similar situations at all. Perhaps her ordeal was much worse.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, she continued walking forward, eventually realizing that the world was now obscured by fog. She figured Mistral might have to deal with fog on a regular basis with the river running through the middle of the city, but today was warmer than normal.

She shivered. _At least it_ was _warmer than normal. What's with this sudden chill in the air?_

Nevertheless, she marched on. It wasn't long before she finally encountered another body, but this one was no lost child. It was a hideously deformed human-like creature, the likes of which she had never seen before. The Grimm were one thing, but this was disgusting. She stopped in the middle of the street, Elfenbein in hand and ready for battle. It turned to face her, but it made no moves toward her. Upon second glance, she realized that its eyes were stapled shut while its mouth was forced open to an inhumanly wide grin, exposing all of its teeth.

It seemed to twitch every so often, as if it were in anguish. From the look of its rotting skin and pained movements, Ivory surmised that it was, indeed, in great agony. Another set of footsteps sounded from behind and she turned around to face another grotesquely mutated man. This one had eyes, though, eyes that protruded from its head, eyes that were aimed directly at her.

Ivory readied herself for battle as the unsightly creature screeched before dashing at her, holding out hands with razor sharp talons at the end of each finger. She dodged two swipes before countering with Elfenbein, slicing off both hands before stabbing it in the chest. She finished it off with a stab to the head before turning around to face the other, sightless monster, which flailed wildly as it attempted feebly to locate her.

She examined the creature closely. It posed no real threat to her so long as she kept quiet. Something about this humanoid monster was odd. As it calmed down, giving up on trying to find her, it seemed to sob in distress.

_What are these things?_

She decided to let the creature live, although the tactician in her told her it was a bad idea. Still, she couldn't let go of the strange sadness emanating from it.

Trying something new, she headed to the edge of the city to see if she might return to the real world, but as she neared the south gate, her world changed even further. The fog and sunlight slowly gave way to utter darkness so perfect that even a light she shone using some Fire Dust illuminated nothing beyond fifteen meters.

_Is this...the true Labyrinth?_

The flame born from Elfenbein did allow her to see her surroundings, though it wasn't much. The streets and buildings of Mistral were now decrepit and decayed, as though they had been abandoned for ages. Oddly enough, though, every structure still appeared sound despite the copious amounts of rust and rot.

There were more of those creatures up ahead. She put out her light to maintain stealth, but one of them had exemplary hearing and it darted at her quickly, followed by about a dozen more similar monsters, all of them screeching, groaning, or crying as they attacked her.

 _Crying?_ she thought as she slashed one in the throat, sending blood spurting everywhere. _Are they crying?_

The numbers were too many and she was forced to apply her strengthening glyphs onto herself to increase her speed and strength. It was enough to give her the edge against the large horde and when she stabbed the last one in the head, she scanned her surroundings, keeping quiet so as to be able to hear her enemies. None remained.

She refrained from sheathing Elfenbein before marching forward, keeping her senses keen, her mind focused and clear. She couldn't let the horrid sights and smells to get to her. Not her, not Ivory Schnee, champion of the Vytal Festival Tournament and heiress to the Schnee Family legacy.

_Lilly, if you're in here, I promise I'll find you and bring you home._

 

* * * * *

 

"Ivory!" Leon called out as he and Astor continued to march through the streets of Mistral. "Ivory!"

"Dude, I can't fucking see anything with this fog," Astor said.

"Me neither. Is it always hazy out here?"

"Never this bad. It rarely ever gets worse than a little mist. We get hella wind from up north and it breaks up the mist pretty quick."

"Even with the big lake to the west?"

"Yeah. Ivory!"

"So, what do you think? Did we cross over?"

"I mean, there's literally not a soul here besides you and me. We're on fucking Main Street. This spot is usually packed with people."

"I guess that's some good news. We know she crossed over, too. I mean, people don't just disappear into thin air like that."

"Speaking of that," Astor said before turning to his companion, "how exactly do you plan on getting back to the real world once we do find Ivory?"

"Haven't gotten that far yet."

"I figured as much. So, honestly, even if we do find her, we're probably stuck here like a bunch of morons."

"C'mon, dude, do you gotta be so friggin' harsh?"

"I mean, you're always the one who goes in without a goddamn plan. It's always been like that, even back at Signal. It's a miracle the four of us ever got through finals. Then again, Athena carried the team most of the time and Ingrid was a good improviser. You were mostly there to make things unpredictable."

"I prefer the word 'exciting'."

"Yeah, uh-huh."

"What about you? What were you there for?"

"To look good, duh. I was always the face of the team."

"My god."

"I could be your god if you want."

Leon sighed. "If I do figure out a way to get out of this place, I'm leaving your ass behind."

 

* * * * *

 

There was a familiar voice yelling in the background. She hadn't heard it since the Vytal Festival, but she'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"That's..." Ivory thought before hurrying forward. Athena Rose was curled up on the ground, two grotesque monsters towering over her. "Get away from her!"

Using glyphs to propel herself forward, Ivory reached the two creatures in no time, stabbing both in the back.

"Echo!" Athena cried out as she stood up.

"Huh?" Ivory said, looking over at her rival.

Athena stared back at her in disbelief.

"Are you all right, Athena?"

"I-Ivory?" Athena managed. "Ivory Schnee?"

"The last time I checked, yes, that is still my name, even though your idiot brother forced me to dye my hair blonde...huh. We're both blonde now."

Athena continued to watch her with suspicion.

"I must ask," Ivory began, "why were you just sitting there while those things were standing over you?"

Athena gave her a questioning look.

"Never mind. You must've been through a lot. How long have you been here?"

"I...I don't know."

"I see. It seems time in this place flows differently from the real world."

"What?"

"I believe we are in a Labyrinth. I'm not entirely sure how we're going to get out of here, but we should be able to if my cousin is capable of entering and leaving as she pleases."

Athena looked at the ground.

"What's the matter?" Ivory asked.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. C'mon, let's get moving."

Ivory couldn't help but notice the difference in her rival. The confidence she always carried was completely gone, though she wasn't exactly one to talk considering the revelation she had just had with her own estranged father.

"So," Athena began as they marched along the broken streets together. "When did you get in this place?"

"I believe it's been a few hours since I was drawn into this world," she answered. "I was in the middle of having lunch with..." she hesitated. "It doesn't matter. I was having lunch and then suddenly I'm sitting in the middle of a restaurant without a soul in sight. What about you?"

Athena hesitated. "I can't tell how long I've been here."

"Hours? Days?"

She shrugged. "Months, maybe."

"How is that possible?"

"You tell me."

"Hmm. There can be two possibilities. Either time definitely flows erratically here or the mind's perception of the passage of time is distorted."

"Have you...seen people?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, people you know in the real world. Have you seen any?"

"As in friends? Family?"

Athena nodded.

"I can't say I have, although that might be more unsettling to know that people I care about are also stuck in an infernal place such as this. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I was just curious."

"Have you seen anyone of the sort?"

Athena shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I got pulled into this world with Echo and another friend, Nerida, but I haven't run into either of them since it happened."

"Hmm. This must be the fate of all of those missing persons. The ones who have disappeared without a trace. Come," Ivory said, leading the way. "Let us continue to search for your companions."

When Athena didn't respond, she looked back. Athena was gone. Was she ever there to begin with?

 _I hope you made it back to the real world,_ she thought as she continued onward, although she really had no idea where exactly she was going. One thing was for sure. She couldn't just sit in one spot, not with those ungodly monsters roaming around.

 

* * * * *

 

Qrow and the others were loitering around the rift when he noticed several familiar faces enter the alleyway they were in.

"Yang?" he said, standing up.

"Uncle Qrow?" Yang said, jogging to him.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Penny?" Hillphire said, hurrying to her, his eyes fixated on her missing arm.

"Here we go again," Jerry mumbled, glancing over at a visibly uncomfortable Sara. Penny was equally uneasy.

"What?" Hollie said.

"It always gets weird when they're both around Hillphire at the same time."

Hollie glanced between Sara and Penny. She let out a heavy sigh, finding it amazing that so many love triangles existed in the world.

"Xanthus did a good job sewing and soldering everything," Penny said.

"I was wondering whose handiwork this was," Hillphire said before turning to Xanthus. "You certainly inherited your father's touch."

"Th-Thank you, Hillphire-sama," Xanthus said.

Hillphire chuckled. "Hillphire is fine."

"So," Athena began, scratching her head. "What is everybody doing here?"

"Trying to get into the Labyrinth," Winter said before filling everyone in on the situation.

"Wait, why didn't you just use your Semblance to get to me?" Qrow said to Raven.

"First of all, I had no idea you were here," she said. "Second, I can't march an entire army through the portal, you idiot."

"Do you always have to call me an idiot?"

"So," Yuan mumbled, "this is where Athena and Leon learned the behavior from."

"Shut up!" Qrow and Raven yelled at him and causing him to freeze up.

"You poked the wrong birdies," Ingrid said with a quiet chuckle.

"Hey," Echo said to Yuan. "Could you do here what you did for us back at Kuroyuri?"

"You mean the Labyrinth thing?" he said.

She nodded.

"I don't know. I'm still new to this whole Wraith-Knight thing—"

"Did you just say 'Wraith'?" Winter said.

Penny filled the other group in on what happened at Kuroyuri.

"Ren, Nora," Hollie said before embracing them both. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Nora said. "We plan on avenging the town by getting those Daemon bastards back."

"First things first, though," Ren said. "Yuan, are you capable of crossing over at will?"

Yuan shrugged. "I honestly don't even know how I got us back into the real world. It sorta just happened."

"Yang on a minute," Qrow began, "I wanna see this Wraith-Knight thing."

"I, uh, I can't just bring it out. At least, I don't think I can."

"And it doesn't take you over?" Winter said.

He shook his head. "Penny explained to us the whole thing with Sir Bedivere and his Wraith and this one is nothing like that. Sir Elyan calls himself a Knight of Kameloth. In particular, he's a Wraith-Knight."

"Wait, it even has a separate personality?" Hollie said.

He nodded.

"This is so cool. I mean, we had some pretty terrible crap with the Wraith from before, but your Wraith is a chivalrous knight?"

He gave another nod.

"We don't have time for this," Athena said. "We need to get into that damn Labyrinth and find my brother."

"How the hell do we even do that?" Yang said. "Yuan said it himself. He still has no clue how to even harness the power."

Yuan walked over a few steps before stopping and looking around.

"What is it?" Hillphire asked him.

"There's something..." he mumbled. "Something here."

"Incredible."

"Huh?" Hollie said.

"Liam, are you picking up the same thing I am?" Penny asked.

"Yes," he said. "He's standing directly on top of the rift's epicenter."

Without warning, Yuan vanished into thin air.

"Yuan!" Ingrid yelled before running to where he had just been standing.

"It must be intuitive in nature," Hillphire said. "His new power, I mean."

"Too bad he can't friggin' control it," Athena said.


	23. Ebony and Ivory

CHAPTER XXIII

_Ebony and Ivory_

 

The ground shook beneath Ivory's feet. She looked to the distance. This was no earthquake. They were footsteps of something very, very large. It would be impossible to see the monster in this impenetrable darkness, but—

"What the?" Ivory mumbled as the night was replaced by daylight and that same fog from before, complete with fully intact streets and buildings. The ground shook again. She climbed the nearest multi-story structure to try and get above the fog, but it seemed to extend upward forever. Slowly, however, the mist began to lift and she could finally see the enormous monster in the distance.

"What...in the world?" she mumbled, her jaw dropping at the sight of a beast that stood taller than most of the surrounding structures. It seemed to be fighting something, a human girl who hopped from building to building, casting magical attacks of every variety at the monstrosity. She was too fast for the massive creature to keep up with even though her attacks seemed more of a nuisance to it than a true challenge. Something about the fight was all too familiar to Ivory, though. The girl seemed to be projecting something in the air, something like glyphs, but slightly different.

_Runes!_

Ivory ran toward the battle. If those truly were runes, there was no doubting that this was Lilly, her long lost cousin. She needed to get to her right now to give her the help she needed.

 _What in the world can I do, though?_ she thought, slowing her pace. _No matter. I've still got my glyphs and plenty of Dust._

Before Ivory could join the fight, Lilly opened up a dark indigo rune on the ground, from which emerged her knight, the facsimile of the statue which stood in the center of Beacon Academy's quad. The ground beneath crumbled as the knight leaped up at the monster, swinging its great sword to sever the gargantuan beast's hand as it tried to grab him.

"Now!" Lilly cried out, aiming Myrtenaster at the monster and projecting a sizable red-orange rune. A second rune projected in front of it, this one pale green in color. " _Flammende Hölle_!"

A conflagration of untold proportions erupted from the dual rune, engulfing the building-sized monster in flames. As it roared in agony, Lilly's knight leaped into the air, holding up its great sword, which rapidly increased in size, eventually becoming large enough to cleave the monster in two. The knight brought its weapon down upon the great beast from head to foot. Either half fell to the earth, splattering the city block with blood and gore.

"Heh-heh!" Lilly said before giving her knight a high-five. "Another one bites the dust!"

"Lilly!"

"Huh?" she said, turning toward her cousin, who was running to her.

"Lilly!"

Lilly smiled before turning to her knight, which saluted her before vanishing into twinkling particles of light.

"Ivory!" she said as she ran to meet her halfway.

Ivory was going to call out to her cousin once more when she noticed something odd. Lilly's eyes seemed to change color, emitting a bright, golden glow before returning to their original hazel.

_What was that?_

"Ivory!" Lilly called out. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"I came...to save you?" Ivory said. "But I guess you don't need any saving."

Lilly's jog slowed down to a lingering march as her snow-white hair blew in front of her face, obscuring her eyes. A black, smoke-like aura began emitting from her and Ivory stopped in her tracks. She watched as Lilly reached for Myrtenaster, drawing it and swinging it at her. Ivory only barely managed to dodge out of the way of a fireball.

"Lilly!" she yelled. "What in the world has gotten into you!"

Lilly had a grin on her face, one that sent shivers up and down Ivory's back. As the wind changed direction, her hair cleared away from her eyes, revealing a golden glow where her hazels should have been.

"Lilly?"

"Bitch."

Ivory gasped as another projectile, this one a ball of lightning, flew at her, only barely missing again.

"Lilly!" Ivory yelled. "It's me! It's Ivory!"

"I know."

"Wh-What are you doing?"

"Have you figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

"You have a debt to pay, Ivory Schnee. And I have come to collect." She held Myrtenaster up in the air, opening up six different-colored runes in the air. "Look familiar? It's just like your so-called barrages."

"Okay, fine, I deserve it," Ivory said. "Just come back with me to the real world once you're satisfied!"

Lilly began to chuckle before it shifted into full-blown maniacal laughter. "Oh? You think it'll be that easy? I wouldn't be so relaxed. Did you believe I would stop at fire, lightning, wind, earth, ice, and all the pretty colors?"

Ivory's eyes widened as the runes in the air all turned jet-black, each one emitting a barely visible dark purple mist-like aura.

"An elemental barrage isn't what you deserve!" Lilly screamed. "Curses are all that will meet you today!"

Ivory scampered as a number of spears of black light flew at her from the runes, each one crushing the ground beneath as they impacted. She was able to dodge every single one until the very last, which struck her on the heel. She expected pain, but there was none. She glanced at her foot before looking over at Lilly, who held a smug grin.

She wondered what effect that spear of black light had when her stomach gave her unbearable pain and she stooped over, coughing blood into her hand. She stared in horror at the sight.

"Hmm," Lilly said. "I was wondering which one of those curses would hit you. Looks like you rolled big time and got stage four stomach cancer."

"Wh-What?"

"I told you, Ivory. You are not gonna get away with everything you've done to us."

_Us?_

"Now, let's see which is superior, Myrtenaster or Elfenbein!"

 

* * * * *

 

"For shit's sake, where the hell are we going?" Leon said.

"Dude, why the hell are you asking _me_?" Astor said.

"I don't know, okay!"

"Hey, I'm just as worried about my sister as you are!"

"I know! Okay? I know! Fuck! And fuck this goddamned fog! I can't see a damn thing!"

"Shit! We got company!"

They both turned to a vicious-looking creature.

"I'm out of Dust, dammit," Astor said.

"Same," Leon said. "You still got any fight left in you?"

"A bit. You?"

"I think I can manage one more."

Leon transformed Vermillion Crescent into sword mode while Astor transformed Dream Catcher into an axe, both young hunters-in-training preparing to fight. The monster only took two steps at them when something sharp protruded from its chest before retracting and severing its head.

"Yuan?" Leon said, looking at the young man that had just made short work of their quarry.

"Yo," Astor said. "How did you do that? Those things are tough as shit."

"This makes no sense," Yuan mumbled. "Those monsters are only supposed to be in the third layer, not the second." He turned to his companions. "Are you two okay?"

"Tired, but okay," Leon said. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find you two so I can get you out."

"We can't just leave," Astor said. "We came in here to find my sister."

"Your...sister?"

They filled him in on the situation.

"Ivory is your...half-sister?" Yuan said.

"Yeah, so I'm not leaving without her," Astor said.

"Neither am I," Leon said.

"That's fine," Yuan said. "I think I can sense where she is. And something else. There's something very powerful in that same area, something incredibly dark."

"We have to get to her, then!" Leon said.

 

* * * * *

 

Ivory coughed again, spurting blood onto the pavement. It was no good. Whatever that curse was that had afflicted her, it was debilitating. She could barely stand let alone battle with her cousin.

"This won't do," Lilly muttered. "I don't want you passing out on me. You need to be at your best when I humiliate you."

Ivory choked as Lilly grasped her by the throat. A pale blue glow emitted from her hand while her other glowed with a bright, white light.

" _Gesegnete Hand_ ," Lilly mumbled before casting another spell, " _Element des Lebens_."

The first magic from the white rune on her right hand undid the curse on Ivory's body while the second spell from the pale blue rune healed her wounds. Once the magic's work was finished, Lilly released her, dropping her to the pavement.

"Now," Lilly said, taking a few steps away. "Let's begin our rematch."

"Rematch?" Ivory coughed.

"You guessed it. Vytal Festival Tournament, round two!"

"Lilly...what's gotten into you?"

Lilly grinned. "A little spine, that's all."

The elder cousin's blitz was staggering. Ivory found it impossible to keep up with her and all she could manage was a feeble defense. She quickly used her strengthening glyphs on herself, but it was still not enough to match Lilly's phenomenal power and speed.

"Over here!"

Ivory turned around, but Lilly was already gone.

"This way, slowpoke!"

Again, she was too fast for Ivory.

"Take this!"

Ivory held up Elfenbein to guard against Myrtenaster's strike from above, but as Lilly continued to push against her, Myrtenaster began to change shape, taking the form of a knightly sword, one that was black in color, surrounded by a deep purple aura.

"What?" Ivory muttered.

Lilly grinned before projecting her sword's powerful attack. " _Geschwärzte Flamme_!"

Out of her cousin's new sword erupted a shadow-like inferno, hurling her back several yards and knocking Elfenbein out of her hand. She tried getting back up to her feet, but the ache in her body was unlike she had ever felt before. She looked over at Lilly. There were two of her marching at her. She shook her head to try and refocus her vision, but before she could, something grabbed her by the collar before delivering a punch to her face, powerful enough to send flashes of light in her vision.

"How does it feel, Ice Queen?" Lilly spat as she continued punching. "How does it feel!"

One last punch shattered Ivory's aura as her shirt tore and she fell to the ground. She could barely move through the daze and pain. Or perhaps the greater pain came not from the flesh, but from her soul. This was everything she deserved for all of the hell she had put her elder cousin through growing up. The daughter of the Silver Maiden, the one who saved the world twenty years ago, should have been treated like royalty. And yet, Ivory Schnee treated her like garbage. Worse than garbage.

"Go ahead," Ivory sobbed as Lilly stood over her. "This is what I deserve for what I did to you."

"What? You think I'm gonna kill you?" She turned her cousin to face up, mounting her. "No, I'm not gonna kill you. This is _Hell_. In this place, you're not allowed to die!"

One punch. Then another. And another. Each one with so much force and hatred behind it that Ivory could feel the life leaving her body. But she was at peace. If this was what she deserved for everything she had done to her cousin, then she was all right with it.

"I don't think so," Lilly said as she healed her body before continuing her assault on her helpless cousin.

Ivory had lost track of time by now. The punches no longer hurt her physically. Each one struck her very soul. But she didn't resist the agony. This was exactly what she deserved.

_"No!"_

This pain, this must have been the equivalent of what she incessantly put Lilly through.

_"Stop it!"_

Even if she were to spend eternity like this, Ivory was ready to embrace her penance.

_"That's enough!"_

Ivory managed to open her eyes through the bruising. She stared up at her cousin, who was holding her own fist back, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Please! Stop hurting her!"

"Why? She was the one who hurt _us_ first!"

"She doesn't deserve this!"

"Why must you always be so damn soft, Lilly?"

"I won't let you hurt her anymore!"

"I'm only doing this for you! For us!"

"Please, Lilith, please. Just...stop."

Ivory stared in confusion at the sight of her cousin talking to herself. No, it wasn't Lilly talking to Lilly. She was talking to someone else who inhabited the same body.

"Lilith...please, just...let me handle this..."

Lilith sighed. "Fine. Go solve your own problems. Don't think this makes me hate her any less."

"No more hate...no more pain...I can't...I can't do this anymore..."

Lilly gasped before panting as she regained full control over her body. "Thank you, Lilith."

"L...Lilly...?" Ivory barely managed.

"Ivory!" Lilly yelled, wrapping her arms around her bruised and broken cousin. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Ivory!"

Ivory closed her eyes. "Don't be. I...had it coming for a long time."

Lilly held her at arm's length. "No! That's not true!"

"All those times...I called you a...bastard child, insulted your eye color, made fun of your lack of glyphs...I deserve even worse for all of that."

"Ivory, stop!"

"No, Lilly. I need to apologize. I kept saying those things to you, when it's clear that you've been the best the whole time. You're the daughter of the one who saved our planet decades ago, the daughter of the Silver Maiden, and...the daughter of Sir Bedivere, Knight of Kameloth. I owe him an apology for insulting his child."

"Stop it, Ivory. That's enough."

"Nothing I can do...will ever be enough."

Lilly held her cousin as tightly as she could, allowing the light to flow from her essence to Ivory. In short order, the younger's physical body was completely healed. Lilly's power was enough to even revert her hair color back to normal.

"Lilly," Ivory mumbled as she sat beside her cousin in the middle of the broken streets of the Labyrinth. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"I told you already," Lilly said, leaning against her cousin. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"You're wrong, though. I've been such a bad cousin to you."

"Hey, we all do stupid stuff, don't we?"

"Mine was beyond stupid, though. It was just...so much damned pride."

Lilly turned to face her. "Ivory."

Ivory returned her gaze.

"I forgive you."

Those three words, as small as they were, were enough to pierce Ivory's heart and shatter what remained of the icy prison she had placed around it. Her tears began to fall uncontrollably with sobbing to follow not long after. Lilly wrapped an arm around her, holding her close as she let the tears flow freely.

_I'm glad you're safe._

"Will you come home with me?" Ivory asked her.

"I can't," Lilly said. "Not just yet. There's still something I need to take care of."

"More Labyrinth business?"

"More than just that. I have a war to stop."

Ivory looked her cousin in the eye. "Wait."

"Vacuo is trying to start a war with Atlas."

"And Atlas is trying to start a war with Vacuo. Leon and I were trying to stop that, too."

Lilly smiled. "Has he been well?"

"He misses you. A lot."

"You've been taking care of him, haven't you?"

"I think it's been the other way around. Wait, are you trying to tell me that you've been in Vacuo all this time?"

"It's...not that simple. The Labyrinth's third layer, the one that's all dark and filled with monsters, that doesn't necessarily match up with the real world, whether we're talking space-wise or time-wise."

"But we're in Mistral now."

"Yeah, and I have to get back to Vacuo."

"Why don't you come home with me? They miss you so much. We all do."

"I told you, I can't just yet." She paused. "My mom doesn't know anything about this, does she?"

Ivory shook her head. "As far as I know, everyone involved has been keeping it under wraps to stop panic from spreading around."

"Good." She stood up with Ivory, eyeing three familiar young men quickly advancing to them. "Okay, it's time for you to go back. Your mom and dad must be worried about you."

"You...know?"

"I...sorta overheard. See, the first layer of the Labyrinth is an exact replica of the real world and I can sometimes...hear things in the real world. I happened to be there when you and Aunt Winter were talking about it."

"I see."

"Take care of Leon for me, okay?"

Ivory nodded before giving Lilly another tight embrace.

"I love you, little cousin," Lilly said, walking away from her.

"I love you, too, big cousin," Ivory replied.

"Ivory, are you okay?" Astor said as he, Leon, and Yuan caught up to her. "You're not hurt? Is this blood yours?"

"No, I'm okay," she said. "I think I'll be okay."

Astor sighed with relief before embracing his younger half-sister. "Jeez, could you not do that to us again?"

She chuckled. "You're really taking this big brother business seriously, aren't you?"

He frowned. "Can you blame me!"

"Is that..." Yuan began, staring into the distance.

"Lilly!" Leon yelled. He was about to run to her when a massive rune manifested beneath their feet. "Wait! Lilly!"

_Take care of each other, okay?_

"Is that her voice?" Astor mumbled.

"Yeah," Yuan said.

"Lilly!" Leon cried out. "Please, don't leave me again..."

_I'm not leaving you, silly. I just have things to take care of for now. We'll see each other again._

Ivory took him by the hand, looking up at him with a smile. He looked back out to Lilly as their surroundings were bathed in a bright, white light, which faded to reveal the streets of Mistral.

"We're back," Astor said.

"Lilly's gotten really powerful since we last saw her," Yuan said.

"You could sense it, too, huh?"

He nodded.

"Lilly..." Leon mumbled, looking at the ground. Ivory filled his vision.

"You trust her, don't you?" she said.

He looked down into her crystalline blue eyes. Her hair was back to its silver-white color, the same as Lilly's. "Yeah," he said. "I do trust her."

She smiled. "Then, let's go. She said she needs to take care of things, to try and stop a war between Vacuo and Atlas. We're trying to do the same, aren't we?"

He nodded.

"She's counting on us to do our part. So let's do our part."

"Okay."

Yuan and Astor watched as they headed back toward the Lyon Manor, Leon's hand in hers.

"It seems we've missed out on a lot," Yuan said.

"You have no fucking idea, dude," Astor said.


	24. Distant Shores

CHAPTER XXIV

_Distant Shores_

 

The vault at Hillphire's Forge was the most secure location in all of Mistral. This was where Hillphire's panic room was located, but more importantly, it was where Penny's service bay lay hidden from the world. Very few individuals had the privilege of ever setting foot in this place. Among them were Hillphire himself and his closest friends, but given their bond with Penny, Teams APEX and LILY were permitted access, although today only Xanthus would enter.

Penny was alone in the room, her artificial body attached to wires and other tubing. What remained of her left arm was under service by a pair of robotic arms. They would make the necessary preparations for the attachment of her new arm, which lay only a few feet away.

Xanthus walked up to her. She had her eyes closed. He watched as her chest rose and fell with her breathing. He wondered if she really was breathing or if it was some other process that simulated breathing. At the end of the day, it was all minutiae. After all, it's not as if it would change how he and the others saw her.

She was one of them. That was that.

"How long do you plan on watching me sleep?" she said, making him nearly jump out of his skin.

"I-I didn't realize you were awake," Xanthus said. "Wait, you actually sleep?"

"Well, I suppose it's not exactly the same as what _you_ would consider 'sleep,' but I do enter into a low power state while I also perform debugging and system checks."

"So, not that different from biological human sleep."

"I suppose. There's still so many different theories on the reason humans need sleep."

"Do you dream?"

She ruminated on the idea. "There are a few times where I've lost consciousness while in low power mode. I can't exactly be certain if what I saw were dreams or nothing more than glitches, hallucinations, if you will."

"I see." He walked up to a screen that displayed her full schematics. "Your computer is also state-of-the-art. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. This far and away surpasses anything even Atlas has."

"Liam calls it an artificial quantum neural network. It's something he stumbled upon while messing around with circuitry and he decided to replace my old hardware with it."

"I see. You really are getting closer and closer to organic. I've read some theories about artificial neural networks and it's supposed to be able to simulate the operation of the human brain. You also have a fully functioning digestive system, endocrine system, pulmonary system, mostly everything here is organic or quasi-organic."

She watched her young pupil as he pored over the data displayed on the screens. Something about him reminded her so much of Liam, his insatiable curiosity, his drive to march science forward, and that all-too-adorable way his eyes twinkled when presented with so much information that the average mind would barely comprehend.

"Oh, it looks like the preparation is complete," he said, watching as the robotic arms stowed away.

"Xanthus," Penny said. "Would you like to do the honors?"

He reddened. "Th-This is something Dr. Hillphire should be doing."

She smiled. "It's okay. I don't mind."

He hesitated for a bit, fumbling over himself as he headed to the other side of her service bay to bring the new arm over to her. Like the rest of her, it was covered with quasi-organic artificial skin. He positioned the new arm at her shoulder, but her shirt fell over her joint, blocking his access.

"Uh," he mumbled.

She chuckled as she pulled back her sleeve, exposing her joint and her skin. Xanthus felt his whole head getting hot as he fought hard to avert his eyes from the amount of skin she was exposing, though the teenage hormones rapidly gave way to his scientific curiosity.

"I do have a question," he said as he proceeded to attach the new arm. "You, uh, you have the shape of a woman. Do you have, well, you know..."

"The hardware?"

"Y-Yeah."

She chuckled. "If you're referring to my boobs, they're there. I'm sure you can see that."

He fumbled with one of the locks.

"But I don't have what I would need to give birth to a human being, if that's what you're asking."

"I-I see."

"You have an interesting way of making small talk."

"S-Sorry. I just get caught up in all the technical stuff which then brings up other thoughts and they all come together in the most awkward way possible."

She giggled.

"There. Can you move it?"

Penny raised her new arm, wiggling her fingers and making a fist. "Just like the last one."

"So, the skin and stuff."

"Oh, right." She accessed the robotic arms to run skin grafting where her new arm was attached. "Much better."

"There's a scar."

"Yup. Battle scar."

He smiled. "Makes you more human."

She returned his smile.

"Penny, do you mind if I stay with you? At least until all of your diagnostics and other operations are complete?"

"I don't mind at all."

He took a rolling chair and sat beside her service bay. He stared at her new hand for a bit before reaching out to touch it softly. "Do you feel that?"

She nodded.

"What about all of the cutting and soldering the repair arms were doing?"

"Yes, I felt all of the pricks, too."

He continued to play with her fingers, admiring how soft her new skin felt, eventually stopping altogether.

"Xanthus?" Penny said, looking over at him. He had fallen asleep, his forehead resting against her service bay. She reached over and put her hand on his head before closing her own eyes.

 

* * * * *

 

"Xan-chan is missing out on some seriously good ramen," Echo said.

"Dude, you call him that, too?" Leon said.

She nodded.

"Shit, like, every girl calls him that now. Back at Beacon, anyway."

Athena looked over to Ivory, who was seated closely to Leon. She chuckled to herself, wondering how in the world her brother had managed to melt that heart of ice.

"It's good to have you back," Yuan said, bumping fists with his partner.

"We're still short a member," Ingrid said before looking over at Ivory, who maintained her silence.

"So, Daemons, huh?" Astor said.

"That's what they call themselves," Yuan said.

"And you've got superpowers."

"I, uh, I guess."

"And Lilly has been roaming around the Labyrinths all this time," Athena said.

"It's a lot to swallow," Ingrid said.

"That's what she said!" Leon and Athena said at the same time before giving each other a high five.

"I walked right into that."

"Hey, Ingrid," Leon said.

"What."

"Can I play with your ears again?"

She sighed.

"Please?"

She maintained her silence.

"Pretty please, pretty kitty?"

"Leave the poor cat alone, Leon," Ivory said.

"Fine. Just cuz you asked so nicely."

"Quit treating me like a cat!" Ingrid yelled, after which Athena reached over to play with her cat ears. She backed away and hissed at her.

"Guys."

Everyone turned to Perseus, who had been silent the entire time. He hadn't said a word since their experience in the Labyrinth a few days ago.

"I have something I need to tell all of you."

"If it's about the Labyrinth," Athena began, "we're here to listen."

He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Echo reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He managed a small smile before sitting up straight.

"Lilly..." he trailed off as he gathered his thoughts. "The reason Lilly isn't here right now is because..." He looked at the table. "It's because of me."

The group stared at him for a bit, mostly incredulous as to what he was talking about.

"I'm the one...I'm the reason."

"What are you talking about?" Athena said.

He buried his head in his hands. "If I hadn't...if only I never..."

"Hey," Echo said, rubbing his back. "Take your time."

He sighed heavily. "At the end of the Vytal Festival, I...I approached her. With a proposition. I wanted to join her in her excursions into the Labyrinth. Long story short, she ended up volunteering in some of the government projects aimed at combating the Labyrinths."

"Government projects?" Leon said.

"I think I've heard of this," Ivory said. "The Atlas military had a project aimed at fighting some kind of residual space-time distortion left over from the Labyrinth War. It must be the same thing."

"Vacuo has a similar project going on," Perseus said. "And...she volunteered. To go home with me, to subject herself to all kinds of..."

"All kinds of what?" Athena said.

"Experiments," Ingrid said. "They're probably trying to figure out what makes her tick."

"Why did we see her in the Labyrinth, then?" Astor said.

"Part of the experiments, probably. I mean, it's no different from what the governments once did to the Faunus."

Leon stood up.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Athena said.

"What are we waiting for?" he said. "Let's go to Vacuo and find her."

His sister scratched her head. "Didn't you and Ivory just tell us that you're trying to _stop_ a war? You do realize that what you're planning is going to do the exact opposite, don't you?"

"This is Lilly we're talking about."

"Yeah, who is also, by your own admission, trying to stop a war. You wanna fuck up everything she's been planning for the last few months?"

Leon sighed heavily before walking out of the restaurant.

"At least it didn't get violent this time around," Ingrid said.

"Perseus," Athena said, turning to her teammate. "Tell us everything you know about what's been happening with Lilly.

Before he could continue his story, Ivory stood up to follow after Leon.

"Amazing how much can change in so short a time," Echo said.

"You're telling me," Astor said. "In a single day, I discovered that I'd been making passes at my own half-sister all this time."

Ingrid spat out her water mid-drink.

"All right, Astor," Athena said. "After Perseus is done, it's _your_ turn for a story."

 

* * * * *

 

"This is quite the development," Oscar said, folding his hands under his chin.

"Yeah, it's pretty heavy," Hollie said. She turned to Qrow and Winter. "Honestly, it's the best lead we could have asked for."

"At least we know she's safe," Glynda's voice sounded before she walked into the frame, standing beside Oscar's chair.

"We still don't know her physical location," Ironwood said. "Even if she _is_ still in Vacuo as Ruby Rose's team has discovered, there is still the problem of trying to extract her without starting a full-blown war."

"Hey, Jimmy," Qrow said into the microphone, "are you sure your line's secure?"

"It's my unit's line," Winter said. "We can be sure even Colonel Gottfried's goons haven't tapped it."

"Yes," Ironwood said. "The Schneesturm specialist corps is the best at intelligence gathering in all of Atlas. As such, their encryption is also top-notch."

"Returning to the topic," Oscar began, "Raven's team has been keeping me updated on their every encounter with Cinder and her group. It seems they have joined forces with these Daemons, although it is yet to be known whether this was voluntary or not."

"Cinder's always had a lust for power," Yang said. "It's not surprising at all that she'd team up with a Daemon. She already went as far as replacing her body parts with Grimm parts."

"And selling herself to Salem," Winter said. "Speaking of which, has anyone located the other two Maidens? It's been twenty years since my sister killed both Winter and Summer. At least we know Spring has been here all this time in Raven."

"Would they even make a difference at this point?" Ironwood said.

"Yes," Raven said. "It seems at least Cinder is capable of resisting the powers of the Labyrinth's third layer and asserting _her_ reality upon that reality. The Spring Maiden is capable of the same."

"Have you figured out how?" Glynda asked.

"Unfortunately not. We don't have the luxury of having Daemons tutor us on the use of magical phenomena that come from different worlds."

"What is their end goal?" Hollie said. "They went to Kuroyuri to open some kind of Nexus. Is it the same Nexus as what was on..."

There was quiet for a bit.

"According to Penny, it is," Qrow said. "The same Nexus _he_ had."

"But Bedivere's Nexus gave him a whole load of magical powers, didn't it?" Hollie said.

"It's still beyond our understanding," Oscar said. "Ruby's team hasn't come across anything promising either. Your sister is doing fine, by the way, Yang."

"She better be," Yang said. "I'd never let her hear the end of it if she allowed herself to get all flabby over the years."

"All in all, from what you've all reported to me over the months, there have been nine of these Nexus activations across all of Remnant. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. Four have occurred in completely unpopulated regions. The others were either close to or directly within populated areas." He paused. "Ren, Nora, I heard about Kuroyuri. To have to endure such a tragedy a second time..."

"Thanks, Dr. Ospine," Nora said. "But we'll live through it. We did it once before."

"Wait," Ren said, turning to her. "Did you just call him 'Ospine'?"

"Yup."

"Huh. Weird."

Qrow chuckled. "Anyway, so we have no idea what the hell they're activating these Nexuses for."

"None whatsoever," Oscar said. "I certainly have no clue."

"That makes me very uneasy," Raven said. "For Professor Ozpin to have no idea what's going on is never a good sign."

"To be fair," Ren began, "I don't think Cinder's group has any idea either. That's the vibe I got from their interaction with the Daemon accompanying them in Kuroyuri."

"We also have the impending war to worry about," Ironwood said. "I've tried everything I possibly could."

"I'm also being recalled to my post," Winter said.

"What do you plan to do?" Hollie asked her.

"Everything I can. We cannot afford another bloody war."

"And your daughter?"

Winter paused. "I know I can trust in her. She may only be a child, younger than my sister was during the last war, but she is wise beyond her years. She also has skill that surpasses even my own."

"Wouldn't it be sick as fuck if she was the Winter Maiden, though?" Yang said.

"As great as that would be," Raven began, "we have no indication that the power passed on to her, or to anyone at all."

"None of Salem's old followers have the power either. I wonder who the hell those two could have been thinking about while Weiss was doing...that...to them." She cringed upon recalling how the Winter and Summer Maidens had been so brutalized at the end of the war, but her heart went heavy as soon as she recalled the trigger for that outburst of unbridled rage.

"We can't concern ourselves with that now," Oscar said. "Raven, could I ask you to try and work with Yuan? These new powers he's inherited, they may come in handy."

"You don't see any problems trying to use the power of a Wraith?" Ironwood said.

"Well," Hollie began, "Yuan said it himself. He's not really like Bedivere's Wraith. It's not even his own self. It's more like...like an entity that's latched onto the boy's soul and grants him magical powers."

"At what cost, though?" Glynda mused.

"Ren, Nora," Oscar began, "I believe it is best if you stay close to your son."

"That goes without saying," Ren said.

"From what you've all said, it doesn't seem like anything will go wrong, but nevertheless, we can't take any chances. We all saw what that power was capable of twenty years ago."

"Yeah," Nora said.

"What's our next course of action, Ozpin?" Ironwood said.

"For now, let's try and stop the assassination attempt on William Hillphire."

"Easier said than done. Colonel Franz Gottfried himself is expected to be out there with a small team of specialists. And they are extremely deadly. They have yet to fail a single sortie."

"We'll see how he deals with the Spring Maiden," Yang said, smashing her fists together. "Right, mom?"

Raven chuckled.

 

* * * * *

 

Leon watched from where he sat as children played in the park. This place certainly was much different from Atlas. He couldn't remember if kids even played in the parks back there. Then again, not being completely snowed in helped quite a bit down here.

Off to the distance, a big group of kids mingled, half of them of north Anima descent while the other half were clearly southerners from their distinct clothing and facial features. It reminded him of his partner and teammate, Yuan Ren, the physical embodiment of two ethnic groups coming together.

"People can get along just fine," he said to himself. "So, why the hell do Atlas and Vacuo wanna pick a fight with each other?"

"Probably because they don't see the world the way you do."

He looked to his right, where Ivory stood. Her light blue dress caught a breeze and she tucked a lock of her silver-white hair behind her ear to keep it out of her face. If it weren't for her crystalline blue eyes, she could easily pass for Lilly.

"May I?"

He moved over, giving her room to sit on the bench with him.

"It's so peaceful here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said. "You wouldn't guess that only a thin layer separates our world from a world filled with monsters even worse than the Grimm."

"Or that a war only twenty years ago nearly exterminated humanity."

"Or that a war eighty years before that brought the world to the brink of ruin."

They sighed together.

"Why can't we just live in peace?" Leon said.

Ivory shrugged before pulling her legs in. "Maybe it's just human nature. I often find myself wondering what Lilly's father sacrificed himself for, if the world he saved was even worth saving. Salem was locked away and the Grimm's numbers decreased to record lows, and yet what happened? The human population exploded and along with that came unheard of levels of pollution and crime. And now we're about to have another war."

"It's no wonder the Grimm are coming back. Maybe the Daemons are nothing more than the physical representation of humanity's sins."

She turned to look at Leon, who had since re-dyed his hair to its old black color, the tips as red as the cloak he wore today. He had a pensive look on his face, opposite of the Leon she had come to know. Or rather, this was the side of Leon she had grown to love so much. She turned away as she realized her own thoughts, but then he took hold of her hand and now her face must have been as red as his clothing.

"Hey," he said. "You're not...busy, are you?"

"What could I possibly be busy with right now?" she said, turning to him.

"Why are you all red?"

"It's the sun! My skin doesn't like direct UV exposure!"

He chuckled. "Okay. Anyway, c'mon."

"Wh-Where are we going?" she said as she let him lead her down the promenade.

"Just wanted to get a little somethin'."

Her whole body began to warm up as she watched him buy some flowers at a nearby booth.

_Why am I getting nervous? Ivory Schnee does not get nervous!_

"Here ya go," he said, making her gasp. "Do you like them?"

She stared at the flowers in his hand. This could not be a coincidence. There was no such thing as coincidence.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing," she said, hesitantly accepting the white chrysanthemums from him. She was trying to figure out whether it was dumb luck that he just so happened to pick out her favorite flower or if he somehow knew all along, although that wouldn't make any sense since only three people in the world knew what her favorite flower was, and that was her uncle, her butler, and—

"Mom, you traitor," she mumbled under her breath.

"Huh? Oh, no, it wasn't your mom. Your Uncle Whitley was the one who told me what your favorite flower was."

She growled. "What are the flowers for, anyway?"

"Not just flowers," he said before leading the way to another store.

She stood awkwardly to the side as he went around, asking an employee some questions.

"Are you here with your boyfriend?" a store clerk asked her.

"H-Huh?" she gasped, turning around. "N-No, he's not my b-boyfriend."

The older lady smiled. "You wouldn't happen to be Ivory Schnee by any chance, would you? The winner of this year's Vytal Festival Tournament?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"I thought I'd recognized you. Is there anything you'd like to see?"

"I-I'm just following my friend around, thank you."

"If you need anything, please, don't hesitate to ask."

"Much appreciated," Ivory said with a bow before turning back to Leon, who seemed to be trying to decide.

"Hey, Ivory," he said gesturing for her to join him.

She wanted to flee more than anything, but she acquiesced and stood with him at the counter.

"Which one do you think is nicer?" he asked. "The teardrop one, the diamond-shaped one, or the circle?"

"Diamond," she said without hesitation.

"I'm impressed," the gentleman behind the counter said, to which Leon grinned.

"I've known her long enough to know what she likes," Leon said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ivory said.

Leon didn't answer, instead handing some Lien to the man before picking up the necklace she had singled out. She gasped and tried to dodge, but he was behind her faster than she could react. Her whole head felt like it was on fire as he placed the necklace around her neck.

"What do you think?" he said, positioning her in front of a mirror.

She had contemplated responding to his question by berating him, but she withdrew the backlash when she noticed how exquisite the pendant was. The chain was silver in color and the gem, a white and blue moonstone, was the perfect complement to her white and pale blue dress.

"Do you like it?"

Her response was completely nonverbal, consisting only of her eyes meeting his in the mirror and her cheeks reddening.

"Happy birthday, Ivory."

The comment took her by surprise. She pulled out her scroll. It was the twenty-sixth. She hadn't even realized that it was already her birthday. How in the world did Leon know? And what was all this? Why the special treatment?

"How does it feel being seventeen?"

She didn't know how to answer. After all, not even twenty-four hours ago, she was sixteen years old. A single day hardly makes any difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was true that these past months have had more impact on her life than every other year before combined. She might only be seventeen, but there were easily years' worth of experience dumped on her in just the past several months.

It all started during the Vytal Festival for her.

"Wanna go grab some ice cream?"

"S-Sure," Ivory said, mindlessly going along with him.

The next hour or so—if it was even that long—was a blur. So many things were happening all at once. Her heart racing was the perfect reflection of her state of mind. It was sundown when she finally calmed down a bit. Leon had been talking to her the entire time, recapping everything they'd gone through together since he first ran into her at Atlas Academy's front gate. Eventually, they found themselves at the Lyon Manor, not that far from Haven Academy. No one else was here yet, but Hollie and Qrow had opened up their home for everyone to stay at. They certainly had plenty of room for all of them.

"Hey, you play, don't you?" Leon said walking to the piano in the middle of the main hall.

"Yes, I do," she said.

He went over to the side and picked up an acoustic guitar, rejoining her in the center as she sat at the piano.

"Why don't you play something?" he said.

"And what, you plan on joining in with your guitar?" she said.

"Sure."

She sighed, thinking about something to play.

"Do you listen to Lyon's Pride?" he asked.

"I do."

"Let's do...ah! Do you know how to play 'I May Fall'?"

"Yes."

"It's gonna be weird with just the two of us, but I think we can do it. All soft and stuff since we don't have drums or bass or electric guitars."

Ivory started the music with a soft chord, the sound of the piano following every movement of her fingers. In just seconds, she had completely lost herself in the music she was making. It was enough to impress Leon, who was a musician himself. He joined in when it felt appropriate, his guitar plucking the perfect complement to her keyboarding. After some time, both began to harmonize with not only their instruments, but also their voices.

 

_There's a moment that changes a life when_

_We do something that no one else can_

_And the path that we've taken will lead us_

_One final stand_

_There's a moment we make a decision_

_Not to cower and crash to the ground_

_The moment we face our worst demons_

_Our courage found_

_When we stand with friends_

_And we won't retreat_

_As we stare down death_

_Then the taste is sweet_

_I may fall_

_But not like this—it won't be by your hand_

_I may fall_

_Not this place, not today_

_I may fall_

_Bring it all—it's not enough to take me down_

_I may fall_

 

When they finished their song, they both turned to one another, sharing a brief moment in total silence. Applause came from the front door and they looked to their entire group.

"You hear that?" Leon said, giving Ivory a nudge.

"Yes," she said, turning to him. "They agree with the song. The battle is not lost yet. We _will_ stop the war, and we _will_ find my cousin."

He smiled. "Yeah. I can believe that. I think, for the first time in a long time, I can have faith."


	25. Desert Rose

CHAPTER XXV

_Desert Rose_

 

Lilly leaped as high as she could before severing the vein-like structures that held James Ashland captive in the Labyrinth of his heart.

"Mr. Ashland!" she yelled at him. "Mr. Ashland! Can you hear me?"

He looked at her with tired eyes. "What...where...?"

"It's okay now. You're going to be okay from now on."

"An...angel?"

She smiled at him. "No, I'm no angel. Just someone looking out for people like you."

"I see. I think...I think you're right. I might be okay from now on."

"That's right. Now, go back to the real you, where you belong."

"Marie...I'll...miss you..."

With those last words, he vanished in her arms.

"I hope you find peace, Mr. Ashland," Lilly muttered as she looked up. She fled the Labyrinth before its disintegration even began, dodging Corrupted and defeating the ones that were in her way. She escaped the collapsing hospital building just in the nick of time.

"Why do they always have to fall apart like that?" she yelled before shielding her eyes against dust flying her way. "Okay, back to the real world."

She searched for her entry point, standing around the spot before her environment transitioned around her and she was back in an alleyway in the middle of downtown Vale. She looked left and right to make sure no one saw her appear in thin air just now and when she was satisfied, she departed, making her way to the airport to meet up with Perseus. She stopped at a smoothie stand to get something for herself and for him before continuing to the terminal, where he awaited her arrival.

"Got ya something!" she said, beaming as she handed the drink to him.

"What you get?" he asked.

"Mango, of course."

He sipped on his straw. "Peach-kiwi. Good mix."

"Isn't it?"

He chuckled. "My family's shuttle should be here in the next ten minutes."

"Awesome."

"Did you just come from...well, you know."

She nodded.

"How did it go?"

"I took down his Labyrinth. Usually, I stay for a while to make sure it worked, but we're kinda on a schedule, so yeah."

"Wow. You can even fit a last-minute Labyrinth job, huh?"

She giggled. "I've actually gotten pretty good at it."

"I can tell. You're not even tired."

"Well, I sorta am. There were so many monsters in this one and ohmygod they were creepy A.F. there were like these nurse things that looked all weird and dressed all skimpy but they all kept trying to knife me and I had to go through the hallways in the dark cuz they were attracted to light and noises but then—"

"I got something about nurses in skimpy outfits. And that's it."

She chuckled coyly. "Sorry, I did it again."

He smiled. "I still can't believe I'm taking you home for the summer."

"I know, right? I've never been to either Vacuo or Mistral and it's kinda exciting to see a new place. Although, technically I've never been to Atlas either."

"But, you're from there."

"Yeah, I know. I just never left Oasis, that's all. I kinda had everything I needed there."

"What about your family? Don't they live in the capital?"

She nodded as she drank. "Uncle Whitley and Aunt Winter came to visit us pretty regularly. I don't think they've ever missed a birthday. I mean, Ivory's birthday is only a few weeks before mine, so sometimes we actually celebrated together, but she hated it."

"I was gonna say. From what I've seen of her so far, I don't figure her as the kind who's gonna enjoy that. Although, I have to say, she's changed quite a bit since she first touched down at the start of the Vytal Festival. Beating both you and Athena must have done something to her."

"I honestly think it's just cuz she didn't see herself as being able to beat Athena."

"I dunno. She kinda reeks of overconfidence and arrogance."

Lilly shrugged. "You don't know her the way I do. She's always been mean, ever since we were kids, but there was always something...I dunno. Her nastiness wasn't all there was to it."

"It's hard to give a crap about any of that when she's a giant dick most of the time. And honestly, I think you keeping up with her the whole time during your teams' match opened up her eyes. The fact that you qualified to represent Beacon is already worth mentioning. And then that holy shit level of friggin' kaboom you guys did at the end was just _awesome_."

She laughed. "That was really scary."

"Yeah, holy crap, that was. I think half the audience was shitting themselves, too."

They looked to the distance as a Vacuo shuttle touched down at the Vale port.

"This is your family's shuttle?" Lilly said in bewilderment.

"You sound really shocked," Perseus said, leading the way.

"W-Well, I mean, I knew you guys had nice stuff, but this is even nicer than my family's shuttles!"

"We pride ourselves in outdoing Atlas at everything," he said with a smirk.

She chuckled as she followed him aboard the aircraft. The first thing she noticed was the abundance of polished hardwood of different shades and gold-washed metal all over the place. They couldn't be brass, not with that luster.

"Good afternoon, Miss Schnee," a female attendant said as Lilly entered the main cabin. "May I take your belongings?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure, thanks," she said. "Oh, and 'Lilly' will be fine."

"Very well, then, Miss Lilly."

"Drinks?" another attendant asked her.

"Oh, no, thanks, I've got one."

"When you finish, then."

"Sure!"

"Ma'am, would you like to be seated with Master Perseus?" yet another attendant asked.

 _So many staff!_ "Uh, yes, I think that'll be good. I mean he kinda is my host so yeah."

"This way, please."

Perseus was already at the very front of the shuttle, the first seat next to the cockpit door. An attendant was by his side, taking his order for some snacks. Lilly sat across a small coffee table from him, astounded at how different he was. The Perseus seated before her now was reserved, the total opposite of the loud and carefree Perseus she had come to know.

She watched silently as one servant after another came to him. He mostly declined their offers, but snacks were a high priority for him.

"Master Perseus," said a man Lilly could only assume was another butler. "Your father is on the line for you."

"We haven't even taken off yet," Perseus sighed. "All right, I'll take it. Thanks, Gio."

"Miss Schnee," the butler said to Lilly. "My name is Giovanni Fortunato, the butler assigned to Master Perseus. Might I offer you some snacks and drink?"

 _Somebody already offered me some, though._ "Um, I guess some snacks would be okay," she said.

"Chips? Cookies?"

"Oh, do you have any of those, uh, strawberry wafer things?"

"I have just the thing, madam."

She chuckled. "Please, 'Lilly' is fine."

"Very well, Miss Lilly."

"No, really, just 'Lilly'."

"I will be back with your snacks in short order, Lilly."

She gave him a bright smile before turning back to Perseus, who was on a miniaturized communications terminal with his father. She remembered earlier conversations about how Vacuo technology had more or less caught up with the rest of the world, even leading in certain fields nowadays, but this must have been the smallest communication terminal she had ever seen. It easily fit on his lap.

"Yeah, I'll see you when we get there, dad," Perseus said into the microphone. "Also, it would be super if you didn't embarrass me in front of my guest."

Lilly chuckled quietly.

"Yup. Love you, too, pops. Say 'hi' to mom for me, wouldya?"

Giovanni returned with their snacks and also to retrieve the communications terminal before returning to the rest of his staff.

"So," Perseus said as he opened up a bag of chips. "That Labyrinth you went through. Wanna talk about it?"

"I know you wanted me to bring you with me, but—"

"No, that's no big deal. I just wanna hear the story."

"Oh. But, I mean, you wanted to join, right?"

"Yeah, but I get it. I mean, out of all eight of us, you're the only one with magic, so I'm guessing you're the only one who can go in and out at will. And safely."

Truth be told, she wasn't sure herself just how the whole thing worked. All she knew was that there were certain places around the city where she was capable of crossing over into the other world known as the Labyrinth, though there was really no scientific way of explaining it. She relied primarily on gut feeling.

"So, who was the person you saved this time?" Perseus said, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh, um, it was a man named James Ashland," Lilly began. "He was suffering from extreme depression after the death of his wife, Marie, to the point that he wasn't even showing up at work or anywhere else. He only ever left his apartment to visit her grave on Saturdays."

"That's heavy."

"Yeah. They were a young couple. I think they were both only twenty or twenty-one when she died."

"No kids?"

She shook her head. "Didn't even have a chance. She died of cancer."

"Shit." He took a sip of his smoothie. "So, how do you usually start these things?"

"Well, first I do some research, try and figure out what kinds of problems my target has. The Labyrinth creates a world in which a person's subconscious fears and desires and guilt and regret and stuff all come to life, like, not as hallucinations, but as actual manifestations. I mean, I'm pretty sure they're real cuz it hurts when they hit me. Anyway, knowing my target helps me to plan out how to go forward. Cuz the Corrupted are usually formed after whatever it is that's holding the person down."

"'Corrupted'?"

She nodded as she drank. "That's what I call them. Cuz it's like, they're corrupted versions of the real world. For Mr. Ashland, his Labyrinth was located right in the apartment building he and Marie used to live in, except that the Labyrinth corrupted it into a really disturbing looking hospital, like the kind you used to see a long time ago where they did lobotomies and stuff on people and all sorts of crazy stuff."

"Creepy."

"Yeah. Anyway, his Corrupted were all physical manifestations of his guilt and stuff. I'm guessing the disturbingly sexy nurses had to do with his late wife, probably some kind of sexual frustration on his part. There were also Corrupted that were chained to beds and stuff, and other...things."

"What about the environment? Is it as deadly as the Corrupted?"

"Not always, but yeah, sometimes it can be. There's this one Labyrinth I went into which was basically a huge factory with lots of heavy machinery and sharp things and hot surfaces and absolutely no safety standards, not even any guard rails on the catwalks."

"The hell?"

"Yeah."

"So, wait, how do you, like, 'take it down' as you said?"

"Basically, I get all the way to the core of the Labyrinth. The deeper you go, the more abstract and nasty the environment gets. Lots and lots of blood and bodies everywhere, and the inner sanctum is more like a prison than anything. Right in the very center will be the person, or, I guess, a Labyrinth manifestation of that person? Anyway, the very last obstacle I have to face is the very embodiment of the thing that's torturing them. In this case..."

He waited for her as she trailed off, but she stared off into space. "Lilly?"

"Oh, sorry," she said, snapping back. "It was...it was his wife I had to fight."

"Wait, but didn't you say that..."

She nodded. "A lot of times, the actual thing in the middle of the Labyrinth will catch me off-guard, cuz it's never what I'm expecting. The very first Labyrinth I ever went through, Mizuki's earlier this year, the, uh, warden, I guess, was a giant monster with really big weapons. Like, he was big enough that I had to jump on top of him to hit his head."

"Holy crap."

"Mm-hmm. But then there was Yuan's Labyrinth. He wasn't deep into—"

"Yuan?"

"You remember when he was in a coma? After he and Ingrid were attacked?"

How could he forget? For the longest time, the suspicion was that it was his family's company that was behind the attack, though it was never confirmed definitively as to who the true culprits were.

"Well," she continued, "it turns out he wasn't waking up because he got stuck in his own mind, thinking he failed to save Ingrid. The good thing was that he wasn't super deep within his own Labyrinth, so it wasn't fully formed yet. The, uh, other world wasn't all that different from the real world, just super dark and with monsters everywhere. Although I did have to get around a lot of locked doors and barred windows. Also, he didn't have a, uh, warden guarding him. I just had to cut the thingies that were coming out of his body."

"Thingies?"

"Yeah. Everybody stuck in a Labyrinth has these, like, vein things coming out of their body. They look like they're pumping blood or something, but it's just red glowy stuff. I dunno, maybe a person's aura?"

"Soul, maybe?"

She shrugged. "So, after I cut those, the person regains consciousness and I guess that kinda frees them from their whatever it was tying them down to the dark world."

"I see. Man, that's pretty gnarly."

"Huh?"

"Most of these Labyrinths, at least the ones for people who are really bad off, they have like a big boss fight at the end."

She giggled. "Too bad Leon and Xanthus aren't here right now to nerd out with you."

"I mean, I know it's probably dangerous and stuff—and I still think it's not cool that you don't trust us enough with it, but I know you have your reasons—but holy crap that sounds like some pretty awesome fighting."

She shrugged. "It does have its moments, kinda like when we're fighting the Grimm, but when I think about it, it's so much deeper than that. I'm literally fighting my way through someone else's grief and pain."

Perseus looked down at the empty bowl of chips on the coffee table. She had a point. Unlike battle with the Grimm, she was fighting against physical manifestations that represented the fears, guilt, regret, secret desires, pain—everything—that kept a person down, oftentimes without that person's awareness. There were many mental illnesses out nowadays, most of which had no cure, only treatments—schizophrenia, psychosis, depression—but this girl sitting before him had the power not only to treat those conditions, but also to cure them outright. Like the others privy to the existence of the Labyrinth, Perseus had been keeping track of all the cases she had been working on. Every single one had undergone a miraculous recovery.

He looked over to his companion. Her fatigue was definitely starting to show, even though she tried her best to stay awake. They were still hours away from Vacuo and she needed some rest.

"Here," he said before standing up to grab a pillow for her from a nearby closet. "Your seat reclines all the way, too, so you can lie down if you wanna sleep."

She looked up at him and smiled. Her light brown hazel eyes smiled with her. "Thanks."

"I'll wake you up before we get to the city limits."

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly awoke abruptly, startling Perseus, who was reading something on his scroll.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

Her eyes went around the cabin before settling on her companion, whose attention was fixed on her.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Lilly said. "Just a stupid dream."

He watched her for a bit as she tried to close her eyes again, but she was breathing hard, sweat dripping from her forehead. "Your trips into the Labyrinth have really taken their toll on you, haven't they?"

She didn't answer, reflecting on the question. It was true that going through Labyrinths was quite the soul-sucking experience. After all, she constantly exposed herself to the absolute lowest society had to offer, whether it was victims of crimes or victims of self-punishment. If she were to be honest with herself, though, the most crushing of Labyrinths she had gone through to date were those belonging to victims of the heinous acts of another. One particularly infuriating case was a victim of abuse by her father and elder brother.

The thought alone made Lilly want to vomit. Even though she had succeeded in freeing the girl from her mental anguish, it was completely out of her power to stop those two monsters from continuing to torment her.

_You know exactly what you could have done._

She gasped before jolting herself out of her seat. Perseus was at her side in an instant.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded in a daze. "How far are we?"

"Actually, we're only a half hour away from port. Did you wanna check out the countryside?"

"Yeah, sure." Anything to get her mind off of that.

She followed him down the aisle to the observation deck, which was encased in a giant bubble of laminated glass, allowing for a complete three-dimensional view of the sky, the land below, and even the shuttle itself. She walked out to the end of the platform, looking past the railing at the world.

They were flying now over a great desert. Gazing out toward the tail end of the craft, Lilly watched as the ocean receded from her with each second. Below her feet were endless sands, but if she looked out far enough in the distance, she could see a mountain range that housed a vast forest. She imagined beyond those hills to be even more trees and wildlife, a stark contrast to the unbroken golden brown below.

"Remember I told you that we turned the city into an oasis?" Perseus said.

She looked to her right. He was leaning back against the guard rail, looking in her direction, but past her. She turned around to see what he was talking about and spotted the city of Vacuo, which sprawled in every direction. The city proper was walled off, protecting it from marauding Grimm and bandits, but the population had since expanded to the point of building outside of the original city limits. Much of these sections of settlement were completely unprotected from the outside world, though Vacuo was known for being home to some of the roughest people in all of Remnant.

"There's so much green!" Lilly said, gazing at the literal oasis in the middle of the desert.

"Remember the crazy stuff that happened twenty years ago? The geological shifts and all that?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, not only did new Dust mines open up, but a huge aquifer beneath the city. It turns out that an underground water system all the way from the north feeds this big aquifer. Over the decades, and probably centuries, the aquifer built up a lot of pressure and the war twenty years ago released it, feeding not just our city, but the surrounding landscape. Vacuo literally sits on a giant oasis."

"Wow."

"Yeah. We've also been expanding all around the kingdom. Most of the Dust mines that opened up were in the north and so we've got two large settlements out there. There's also quite a bit to the south, where a good number of Dust veins have yet to be excavated."

An alarm sounded.

"Oh, crap," Perseus said, grabbing Lilly by the hand. "We're under attack."

"Grimm?" Lilly said.

"Probably."

They both ran back into the cabin. Perseus headed straight to the cockpit.

"Status!" he yelled as he burst in.

"Several aerial Grimm are attacking us, young master," the pilot said. "But don't worry, we have plenty of point defenses."

"Yeah, three guns? I don't think so. When I give the signal, open the deck hatch."

"Young master?"

"Don't question me, just do it!"

"But—"

"We're going to save everyone on this ship, is that understood?"

The pilot stared at him for a while. "Yes, Master Perseus."

"I'm coming with you," Lilly said. "And you're not gonna say no to me cuz I'm more powerful than you now and you can't do anything to stop me."

Perseus chuckled. "I mean, yeah, I get it, but it just sounds funny when the sweetest girl in our entire group tells me that she's more powerful than me."

She reddened. "I mean, it's true, right?"

"Hell yeah." He stopped beside his personal butler. "Gio, make sure everyone is strapped in, okay?"

"Yes, Master Perseus," he said. "Do take care of yourself and the young lady."

"Don't worry about me. Hell, this is my chance to show off what I've learned at Beacon this past year."

The duo made their way to the rear of the shuttle, heading up a small hatch that led to the upper level deck. Perseus pressed a communications button to the side.

"We're in position," he said into the microphone. "Reduce speed so we don't get blown off and then open the hatch."

"Affirmative," the pilot's voice sounded through the speaker.

Lilly gripped Myrtenaster tightly as she and her companion awaited the opening of the hatch. Each second felt like minutes. She had been through much worse than this, but no matter what, every battle always put her on edge.

No, there was a different reason she was so uneasy.

The hatch opened and Perseus burst through, immediately engaging a Beowolf Grimm.

"How the hell did this thing get on the ship?" he said as he stabbed it in the chest.

"Look!" Lilly yelled, pointing to the sky. Several Nevermore Grimm were carrying other Grimm of all types.

"What the? Since when did they start behaving like this?"

The duo fought through Grimm after Grimm, keeping them from doing too much damage to the shuttle. One thing that caught Perseus's attention was the fact that Lilly refrained from using her runes the whole time. He wanted to ask, but he concluded that the act must tire her out. She probably still needed time to recover.

"There's too many," Lilly mumbled.

Perseus looked over to his companion.

"I don't have a choice."

"Lilly?"

" _Ritter von Remnant, beantworte meinen anruf_! _Leih mir dein schwert_!"

Perseus shielded his eyes as a massive indigo rune opened up at their feet, from which emerged that same knight she had summoned during the tournament, the exact replica of the statue which stood in the center of Beacon Academy's quad, the same statue they always hung out at every day.

Seeing it from a distance did it no justice, but up close like this, Perseus couldn't stop his jaw from dropping. It was easily twice his height, its sword just as massive. Two medium-sized Nevermores flew in to try and grab them, but the knight was fast for its size, cleaving both Grimm in half in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, my god!" Perseus said. "That is so cool!"

Lilly grinned at him before turning to her knight. "Ready?"

Her knight turned to her before giving her a nod.

"Okay, let's do this!"

A rune appeared beneath her and her knight, propelling both skyward. The knight made the first move, slashing right through a pair of Nevermore Grimm with a single swing, sending the Grimm they were carrying as cargo plummeting to the earth. Lilly was next, aiming Myrtenaster at a group of Lancer Grimm, those hornet-like creatures that should always be killed with fire and with extreme prejudice.

"There's too many for just one fireball," she mumbled. "Take this! _Feuerregen_!"

A Fire Rune manifested in the air at the tip of Myrtenaster before unleashing the spell she had cast, sending a rain of fire at the swarm of Lancers. She created another rune beneath her feet, using it to propel herself in another direction. She landed on top of the giant Nevermore, stabilizing herself before pointing Myrtenaster at its head, forming another rune in the air, a rune nearly black in color with hints of dark violet.

" _Verwünscht Berührung_ ," she began the spell. " _Es gibt keinen freien willen_."

In an instant, she had that Nevermore's mind ensnared in her spell borne of the Darkness Rune. She needed but think and it flew in the direction she wished. The Nevermore served as her platform as she soared through the skies with her knight, slashing and burning their way through the numerous flying Grimm of all types.

She noticed Perseus down on the shuttle below. A large group of Beowolves had managed to land and were beginning to do significant damage to the vessel.

"Let's hope this works on my friends," Lilly muttered before aiming Myrtenaster in Perseus's direction. She closed her eyes, summoning an Earth Rune. " _Gehärtete Verteidigung_!"

Perseus looked at his arms and legs as some brownish light emitted from his body. He looked up at Lilly, who was circling him with her captive Nevermore.

" _Stahlknöchel_!"

"What is this?" he mumbled as his body glowed yet again. Something was strange. He felt light, but powerful.

Without a word, Lilly continued her airborne assault against their Grimm attackers alongside her knight. Perseus noticed a pair of Beowolves tear open a hole in the shuttle and, without thinking, he darted in their direction, but he moved much, _much_ faster than he was anticipating and merely running into them knocked one clean off of the aircraft.

"Holy shit!" he yelled.

The other Beowolf roared at him before swinging its mighty claw. He instinctively brought up his arm to block the strike, but it didn't hurt at all. He looked at his arm. There was no damage. Pushing the shock aside, he swung his sword, but the swing was so fast and hard that it went through the full thickness of the Beowolf's body, sending both halves falling to the deck.

 _What the hell just happened?_ he thought before turning to the other Beowolves and besting them in combat without so much as the slightest effort. More Grimm were coming from above, ferried in by Nevermore Grimm. Among them was an Ursa Major, one larger than he'd ever seen. Its impact nearly brought the shuttle down, but the craft held steady for now.

He faced off with the Ursa Major and three Alpha Beowolves. Under normal circumstances, this would be a stupid idea, but whatever that glow earlier was, it clearly gave him increased defensive and offensive capabilities. He had to trust in Lilly's magic.

"Here goes!"

He dashed at the Alpha Beowolves, this time making sure to control his speed. He dodged and deflected before countering with his sword. His enemy managed to duck out of the way of his swing, but he was fast to follow up, tripping the monster before impaling it and moving on to his next target.

Meanwhile, Lilly and her knight continued to tear their way across the sky, taking down Grimm after Grimm. Their numbers appeared endless.

 _Even I can't keep this up forever,_ she thought, contemplating whether or not to use her most powerful magic. That would certainly drain her energy, though, maybe even kill her. She was nowhere near fighting condition right now, especially not with that thing in the back of her mind—

_Lilly..._

"Not now, please," she begged.

_Do you fear me?_

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting to suppress the voice, but there was nothing she could do to drown out the loud whine that grew in intensity until her head began to throb.

Something swept her off her feet, carrying her through the heavens. She looked up at her knight, which seemed to shine brighter than ever. He had extricated her from the Nevermore she had been controlling. It had been bitten in half by an even larger Grimm, one that hadn't been seen in decades.

"A...dragon?" she mumbled.

"Lilly!" Perseus yelled as he ran to her. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," she said, looking up at the Dragon Grimm, which roared.

"Where the hell did that thing come from!"

 _Please don't attack us,_ she thought as dizziness began to set in. _Please, just fly away._

The Dragon Grimm turned its sights toward their shuttle, circling from above before hovering.

"Oh, shit, this doesn't look good," Perseus said before pulling out a radio that connected him to the cockpit. "Guys! Evasive maneuvers!"

The massive Grimm began its dive, intent on completely destroying their aircraft. In the midst of its attack, Lilly's knight leaped with enough force to dent the hull on which it stood.

"Wait!" Lilly yelled to it, but it did not heed her command. Its intent was clear. It would protect her at all costs.

Perseus looked over at his comrade. Even though that thing she summoned wasn't even a real being, she still cared for it as if it were anyone else. Never had he thought anyone could possess a heart as big as the one she had.

He turned back to the sky to watch as Lilly's knight dove right into the Dragon Grimm's mouth. The Grimm stopped itself in midair, hovering around, roaring, screeching. Finally, something within exploded, tearing the Grimm in half and sending bits of it all around. Lilly's knight was there, its armor broken in places, blood dripping from the segments.

 _Wait,_ Perseus thought. _That thing isn't real, right?_

"Knight of Remnant," Lilly said quietly. "Please, return from whence you came. _Kehre dorthin zurück, wo du hergekommen bist_!"

The knight bowed in midair before vanishing into twinkles of light. At the same instant, Lilly fell to the deck and Perseus ran to her.

"You've overdone it, haven't you?" he asked her.

"I might have," she managed, looking up at him as he cradled her head. They both looked around as more Grimm circled above. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."

Perseus chuckled. "What're you talking about? It's cuz of you we're still alive."

"But...I don't even have the strength left to fight."

"You don't have to anymore. Like I said. You've saved us."

She followed his gaze to a massive fleet of aerial warships, some enormous and others small and maneuverable. All manner of ordnance flew through the air, tearing apart whatever Grimm were too stubborn to flee. A few of the fighter craft pursued some of the escaping Grimm, returning to the fleet upon termination of their targets.

"So, this is Jupiter Tech, is it?" Lilly said, rising to her feet.

"Yup," Perseus said. "Pretty good for something that's not Atlas Tech, eh?"

"It is." She refrained from mentioning the pointlessness of war itself. "Thank goodness they made it in time."

"Like I said, it's all thanks to you. C'mon, I'm thirsty as shit after all that."

Lilly chuckled, following him inside. She passed by a reflective surface, stopping to look. She paled upon seeing that old apparition again, the distorted vision of herself, the one with the intimidating scowl and eyes that glowed menacingly.

She shook her head and hurried back into the cabin.


	26. Palace of Warmth

CHAPTER XXVI

_Palace of Warmth_

 

The air was hot in Vacuo, despite being a literal oasis in the desert. It wasn't surprising considering where they were, but still. Lilly wished she had some ice water.

"Some water, Lilly?" Giovanni, the butler, offered.

"Oh, it's like you read my mind!" she said to him with a smile.

"It would be remiss of me not to offer a cold drink to the lady who saved our lives. That was some excellent fighting, I must say."

"Thanks! Beacon Academy's curriculum sure does get the best out of us!"

"Yeah, it's still hot as balls out here," Perseus said, wiping sweat off of his forehead. "For shit's sake, we've only been out of the shuttle for like ten seconds and I'm already sweating my ass off."

"It's not so bad," Lilly said. "Just think of it like being at the beach!"

"Actually."

"Do you have a beach here?"

"To the west. Remember the aquifer I told you about? Well, it sorta spilled out and there's a huge lake over there now. More like a small sea, really."

"Awesome! We gotta go check it out!"

"Later. Let's go meet up with my...and there they are. One of them, anyway."

"Perseus!" the new face called out.

"That's my brother, Dionysus."

"But you can call me DJ," he said before bowing to Lilly. "Is this the girl you've been telling me about?"

Perseus sighed.

"I'm just messin' with you!" He turned to Lilly. "Hey, it's really nice to meet a real life Schnee princess."

"I'm Lilly!" she said, shaking hands with him. "I know Perseus said he had siblings, but he never talked about you guys, so it's good to finally meet someone besides his dad."

Dionysus turned to Perseus. "Wow. Thanks a lot, little bro."

"Look," Perseus said before stopping and shaking his head. "Forget it. Is dad at the house?"

"'Course he is. You know mom's cooked up somethin' real good for your homecoming. All righto, here's the limo."

Lilly smiled as he held the door open for her and Perseus. The blast of cool air from the AC was a welcome thing indeed.

"So, Miss Schnee," Dionysus said. "Welcome to Vacuo."

"Thanks!" she said with a smile.

"Your first time here?"

"Mm-hmm!"

"You're definitely gonna have to check out our lake resort if you have the time."

"Perseus told me about it. Let's go later, yeah?"

"Hells yeah. We can throw a homecoming party for my bro, too."

"And you're inviting all of _your_ friends, am I right?" Perseus said with an eye-roll.

"Well, we'd invite all of your friends if you had any."

"Psh."

"Honestly, why didn't you bring any of your Beacon friends home with you anyway?"

"That's none of your business."

Lilly giggled. Of course she knew the real reason it was just the two of them. After all, it was she who had decided against involving any of the others in their little project. It wasn't due to lack of trust in their abilities. Rather, she was fully aware of the dangers of the Labyrinth and they weren't ready for that yet.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and turned away. There was another reason she didn't want to involve them, but she wasn't ready to face that, even though it had been haunting her ever since her very first incursion into that other world, when she saved her classmate, Mizuki, from her personal hell.

She spent the rest of the drive to their home in silence, only nodding and smiling in response to questions and comments. Perseus didn't pry, attributing her quiet to the fatigue of fighting through so many Labyrinths all on her own.

_Lilly..._

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore that accursed voice.

Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the Jupiter Family Manor. She stared in awe at the beautiful hedges and trees that lined the driveway from the gate all the way to the front of the mansion. The entire grounds were awash with warm colors, owing to the large amounts of limestone, sandstone, and granite, with which the property was constructed. Much of the geometry of the main building and other structures was organic and unfinished, giving them a rough, yet strangely elegant veneer.

It was a stark contrast to the way things tended to be built in Atlas, with sharp corners galore and high polish and overly perfect designs. Photos and videos of the capital would overwhelm her with way too many squares and rectangles and precise edges.

On the other hand, the ruggedness of this manor matched the overall ruggedness of the rest of Vacuo. And yet, despite the borderline-unbearable heat and the severe living conditions, like everyone else who had what it took to survive out here, this residence looked bombproof.

"Get ready for it!" Dionysus said before opening the door.

Both Lilly and Perseus groaned as they were struck with a blast of hot air from the outside.

"Shit, summer's barely getting started and you're both already grumbling about it!"

"Dude, I've been living in a _nice_ place for the last year," Perseus said. "I really don't miss this heat."

"And I'm from freakin' Atlas!" Lilly whined. "You know, the ice planet!"

Dionysus laughed. "It's okay, it's air conditioned inside. Honestly, maybe what our family's done for the country isn't such a good thing. It won't be long before everyone in Vacuo's turned into softies like you two!"

The duo groaned again as they marched down the pathway. Dionysus opened the big double doors to let them in, shutting them to keep the air inside from warming up.

"Welcome home, young master," Giovanni said as he greeted them.

"How the heck did you get here before us?" Lilly said, her eyes open wide.

"You may have your skills in combat, young miss. I have my skills in butling."

"Oh."

"It's okay, Gio," Dionysus said. "I'll take it from here."

"Very well, Master Dionysus."

"Oh, wait, are the snacks ready?"

"Shall I bring them out for you?"

"Nah. We'll munch on them in the kitchen."

"Do you intend on getting in the way of the cooks again?"

"Dude, it's like you know me or something!"

Giovanni sighed. "I'll bring the trays to the garden."

"Aw, don't be like that! Fine, fine."

"Garden?" Lilly said. "But, didn't we just leave the heat?"

"We have an indoor garden," Perseus said. "There's an outdoor one, too, for the plants that grow in this area naturally, but we also have an indoor garden for plants that don't really like the heat too much."

"Oh, wow!"

"You two kiddos go ahead of me," Dionysus said. "I'm gonna go grab some wine from dad's stash."

"How can you still call it his stash when _you're_ the one who's always going through it _and_ restocking it?"

The elder brother chuckled before leaving the room.

"Which way is the garden?" Lilly asked.

"The west wing. The pool is in that area, too."

"I had a feeling you guys had a pool."

"It's actually a half-indoor, half-outdoor area. There are screens and stuff we can lower to keep the heat out of the inner area, but the pool is big. Half of it is in the indoor area and half extends out into the yard."

"You guys sure do have it good."

"Yeah, well, it happens when your company's a multi-billion-Lien international conglomerate."

"I mean, the Schnee Manor is pretty big, too, but they don't have a pool. There's a concert hall, but that's it."

"I thought you've never been there."

She shook her head. "I've seen the place on video chats with Uncle Whitley and his kids, though. Honestly, my family's manor is kinda depressing compared to this place. It's so warm and lively around here."

"Oh, you noticed all the people running around, huh?"

"Yeah. As far as I can tell, despite how big it is, the Schnee Manor is pretty empty."

"It's not as cozy as you might be thinking. Honestly, I don't even know half the people here."

His words had a tinge of nostalgia behind them. From Lilly's estimation, the mansion life was a more recent development for the family.

"How long have you guys lived here?" she asked.

He shrugged. "A little over ten years, I guess."

Her intuition was right. "Where did you live before?"

"Out there. With the rest of Vacuo's people. With _our_ people."

He held the door open for her as they arrived at the indoor garden. The screens over the glass windows were up, blocking most of the sunlight and heat from getting in, though it was noticeably warmer here than the rest of the manor. Lilly took a seat at a stone fountain in the middle of the garden, allowing the water to hypnotize her.

"I honestly thought the first place you'd go to was the flower bed," Perseus said.

She chuckled. "I was thinking that, too, but then I suddenly remembered the pond over at Beacon's quad."

"Right. The statue." He paused. "I've been meaning to ask about that."

"You mean my knight?"

"Yeah. What exactly is it?"

She shrugged. "Like mostly everything about this rune magic I have, I don't know anything about it. All I know is that the first time I summoned him, during my match with Ivory, all I could think of was something more powerful than the things she summoned and the first image to pop into my mind was Beacon's knight statue. I mean, all of Penny's stories about the actual knight that the statue represented, Sir Bedivere of Kameloth, I guess I kinda had that in my mind, too. A real-deal knight from legends and stuff. And, well, he just came out of the rune."

"So, he's not real?"

"I don't know. I just...I mean, he disappears and stuff whenever the summon ends or I send him away. And it's not like he gets hurt or anything. Heck, one time he jumped into a volcano—long story—to save me, and, well, he was gone. When I summoned him again the next time I needed him, he was there, perfectly fine."

Perseus mused on her attachment to the knight. Even if it wasn't real, even if it was nothing more than a projection of her power, she had been through life and death with it. It literally gave its own life for her at least once. As far as she was concerned, it was as real as any of them. The uncertainty of the knight's nature only added fuel to the fire. After all, what if it truly was a real being, one that could feel pain? Perseus was quite sure he wasn't imagining things earlier. Lilly's knight really was bleeding after he had eviscerated that giant Dragon Grimm.

"Sorry," Lilly muttered.

"For what?" Perseus said.

"For being a downer."

He chuckled. "You're not being a downer."

"I am, though."

He sat beside her before reaching into the water and splashing her. She yelped as her face and t-shirt were drenched.

"Why!"

He began laughing. "That wasn't the response I was expecting!"

She growled before splashing him back. He responded in kind and before they knew it, they were at opposite sides of the fountain, trying to splash one another.

"At least you don't have to wash your hands," Dionysus said, standing at the pathway with Giovanni.

"Is that garlic bread?" Lilly yelled before running to them.

"It is," Giovanni said. "More specifically, bruschetta with olive oil, tomato, basil, mozzarella, and the finest prosciutto available in Vacuo."

"It's yummy!" Lilly said after taking a bite. "Oh, wow! This is great!"

"I'll be sure to let the cooks know," the butler said with a smile. "Please, do help yourself."

"You bet!"

Meanwhile, Dionysus gave his younger brother a light elbow. "Aren't the Schnees supposed to be dicks or something?" he muttered.

"I'm pretty sure most of them are," Perseus said. "Well, her cousin is, at least."

"The one she fought in the tournament, right? The one that beat your team leader in the finals?"

"Yeah, Ivory."

"I was gonna say. This girl is the total opposite of that girl. Are you sure they're related? I mean, the silver hair is there, but Lilly doesn't have blue eyes."

"Perseus!" Lilly said, holding some bruschetta for her two companions. "Why aren't you guys eating?"

"Just makin' sure you had your fill," Dionysus said with a chuckle. "Help yourself, by the way. A guest of my brother is a guest of the whole family. You will be joining us for dinner, won't you?"

"Of course!"

"Awesome. This is gonna be a first."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"You know about the whole thing between the Schnees and the Jupiters, don't you?"

"Oh, that whole competition thing?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, that."

"Yeah, well, I'm not really involved. I didn't even grow up in the capital with the rest of my family. I grew up in Oasis."

"Hang on, are you talking about that one place in the entire continent of Solitas that doesn't get even a single snowflake?"

"Mm-hmm!" she said, chewing through her food.

"Dude, how is it there? Like, is it cold?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. The weather is nice, like at Vale. A little cooler, but not all icy."

"How does that even happen anyway?"

She shrugged. "No one has any explanation for it."

"I bet it's magic."

"It has to be!"

"You believe in magic?"

"Of course!"

"High five."

Meanwhile, Perseus had put some distance between himself and the other two. Giovanni didn't hesitate to approach him.

"This may be none of my business, young master," he began, "but I sense some tension from you."

Perseus sighed. "Just a little."

"Would you like some of your favorite soda?"

He turned to face his butler, eyeing the bottle in his hand. "You're always prepared, aren't you?"

"My duties are primarily to you, after all."

"Thanks, Gio," he said as he accepted the bottle. He watched as Lilly continued to have lively conversation with his elder brother. It was borderline heartbreaking to watch a girl maintain her purity in spite of all the things she'd seen in the Labyrinth, the physical manifestation of the darkness that pervades humanity. It had to be taking a massive toll on her soul, and yet, in spite of that, she never allowed her spark to fade.

_Never change, Lilly._

 

* * * * *

 

Giovanni had shown Lilly to her bedroom, which was at the far end of the west wing, toward the rear of the manor. Her room was on the third floor, giving her a breathtaking view of the city. Off to the distance was the giant freshwater lake born of the upwelling of the aquifer beneath the city. She looked forward to going there eventually, but there were more important matters at hand. She walked over to a mirror, hesitating to look into it at first, but she sighed in relief when she realized that the reflection was indeed her own.

_Keep it together, Lilly._

She brushed her hair, staring at herself for a bit. It was difficult to recognize her own reflection nowadays. The girl she was less than a year ago was nothing like the girl gazing back at her today. She had been through so much since then, exposed to a world much darker than she had initially realized.

And this new power which slowly bloomed within her, it was slightly terrifying.

She shook the thoughts away before heading to the shower, allowing the cool water to wash away all of the sweat and dirt and dried blood she had built up during the battle atop their transport shuttle. In spite of her prowess in combat, she was far from invincible and amid the hundreds of Grimm they had faced, she had spent half the fight with her aura down. Fortunately, her rune magic more than made up for it.

She closed her eyes, thinking about home, thinking about her mother. She longed to be back at their tiny house, coming home every day from school to greet her mother as she tended to the garden of lilies and edelweiss, their favorite flowers. Between the two, lilies were easier to cultivate since the temperate climate surrounding Oasis permitted their natural growth, but edelweiss took much more care and attention. Helping her mother tend to the more delicate flowers was a favorite pastime for Lilly back in the day.

But those days were long gone. The simple and carefree life she used to live was behind her. She was now aware of the endless problems that plagued the world and of her ability to help resolve them, even if only one person at a time. She could not turn her back on them. She had a duty to save each and every single one.

She shut the water off before drying herself, taking a look at herself in the mirror once more. She only now noticed how rough she was in appearance. It seemed she had also built a lot of muscle since starting at Beacon. It was no surprise given what she constantly subjected herself to.

She picked out the nicest clothes she had packed away before brushing her hair, which she had allowed to grow since cutting it last year. It was down to her lower back now, not quite as long as it once was. She used to wear her long hair the same way her mother did, bun and ponytail to the right. While attending Beacon Academy, she had played around with different hairstyles. Even after cutting it to upper-back-length, she continued to experiment until finally settling on a simple high ponytail with two locks hanging down either side of her head, the ponytail held together by a single pale blue bow.

A knock came from her door and she opened it, facing Perseus in the doorway.

"Hey," he said.

"Howdy," Lilly replied. "Come in!"

"Uh, thanks for the invite, but I was just checkin' to see if you were ready cuz dinner's almost done."

"Oh, yeah, almost. Just gonna put my hair up like usual."

She went through her belongings for her bow when she came across her notebook. She opened it up to the page of the sketch she had drawn during spring quarter at Beacon Academy. She admired the handsome face for a while before turning to Perseus with her notebook.

"Does this face look familiar to you at all?" she asked him.

"Nope, not one bit," he said. "Why?"

She sighed before shutting it and putting it away.

"Wait a minute, did you draw that?"

"Yeah. It was one random morning earlier this year when the face came to my head and I just had this urge to draw it or record it somehow. I dunno. I've never seen it before either, but for some reason, whenever I look at it, it's like...I can't really explain it. I feel safe, I guess."

"Lemme see it again."

She pulled the notebook back out and showed the page to him. He examined it carefully, tracing with his eyes the manly shape of the face. His hair was about ear-length, a pleasant smile topping off the handsome look.

"Whoever he is," Perseus began, handing the notebook back to her, "he's pretty good-looking. Maybe a dream guy?"

She reddened as she stowed the notebook away.

"Well, he literally did come to you in a dream, so..."

"Oh, hush."

He chuckled. "You ready for dinner?"

She quickly tied up her hair with the blue bow before joining him. "Yup! Do I get to meet your whole family tonight?"

"Mm-hmm. Everybody's waiting for you."

"Awesome!"

As Perseus escorted his partner to the dining hall, he couldn't help being overwhelmed by the sheer optimism radiating from this girl. Ever since arriving in the city, he had felt a mild tension, having brought a Schnee to the heart of Jupiter Enterprises, and yet none of that seemed to bother her at all. It was true that she wasn't quite as involved with the feud as perhaps Ivory might be, but the fact remained that she was a Schnee, one who was seconds away from sitting at the Jupiter Family's dinner table.

"Ah, there they are," said Kronos, the head of the Jupiter Family. "I would like to personally welcome the lovely lady to our family home. Miss Schnee, please, do join us at our table."

Lilly curtseyed with a smile before accepting the invitation. It wasn't every day that she participated in such formalities, but her mother had always made sure to instill etiquette in her from a young age. These interactions came almost naturally to her.

"I thank you for your hospitality, Mister Jupiter," she said.

"Please, Kronos will do just fine. We aren't here on any official business. This is purely leisure."

She smiled, taking a seat next to the only person she knew at the table.

"Perseus, would you trade places with her?" said Juno, Perseus's mother. "I would like to get to know her better."

"Sure thing, ma," Perseus said, pulling out Lilly's chair for her.

"Thanks," Lilly said to him with a smile.

"Orion, if you could," Kronos said.

"Very well, father," said Orion, the eldest son of the family.

Lilly followed suit as everyone at the table bowed their heads and held hands. The servers also stood to the side with their heads down.

"May the gods bless our home as we gather together as one family, one people. Let this food before us nourish our bodies as our communion with one another nourishes our spirits."

"Amen," Kronos said. "Now, let us dine. Giovanni, please, give Lilly Schnee the first choice."

"Very well, Master Kronos," the butler said before presenting the largest turkey Lilly had ever seen. "Which piece would you like?"

"Uh, drumstick and some breast, please," she said.

"Would you like the sauce on the side or on top?"

"On top, please."

"Very good."

"Some mashed potatoes?" said another server.

"Yes, thank you," Lilly said. She had expected such a feast from such a rich family, but it was still quite a surprise to have so much food on the table for a relatively small crowd. She took the time to glance around. There were a number of bodies present besides herself. Kronos Jupiter was seated at the head of the table, naturally. To his left sat Juno, his wife. At his right was the eldest son, Orion, and beside him, Dionysus, the middle son. Lilly sat between Juno and Perseus.

 _So many boys,_ she thought.

"Now, then," Juno began, "why is it that only you are here with my son? I expected he would bring all of his friends here, not just one girl."

"Cuz she's special to him," Dionysus said with a smirk as he ate.

"Dude," Perseus said, flicking a pea at him.

Lilly glanced over at Perseus, who was red-faced. "Our teams are overachievers, so they're busy back at Beacon studying over the summer," she said. "I found out from him that he was coming home for break and I asked if I could join him and he said yeah."

"How do you like it here?" Juno asked.

"I like it. The weather's different, but it's nothing a little sunscreen can't take care of."

"I was actually gonna say," Dionysus said, continuing his food flicking exchange with his younger brother. "You came here pale. When you get back to Vale, no one's gonna recognize you when you're as brown as Perseus."

Lilly frowned.

"I was only joking! We do have plenty of...shade, you know."

"Hey, isn't that the name of your academy?"

"It is," Perseus said, "and he's trying to be funny, but he's not funny at all."

"I thought it was funny," she said with a small giggle.

Dionysus snickered at his younger brother.

"That was an excellent match you had with Ivory's team, by the way," Kronos said. "Although I do hope you did not allow the defeat to dampen your spirits."

"Not at all," Lilly said. "We learned a lot from that match. Team APEX did awesome, too."

"Yes, and we are very proud of our boy," Juno said.

"It was too bad my team couldn't face his, though," Dionysus said.

"Your dumbass didn't even qualify for the tournament," Perseus said, flicking a corn kernel at him.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"Say 'ahh'."

Dionysus flicked a blueberry and Perseus caught it.

"Nice one, bro."

"Whatever, dude," Perseus said mid-chew.

"If you are here on vacation," Juno began, "I would have to strongly suggest paying a visit to our lake resort. My sister and her daughters are in charge of the place."

"They run the resort?" Lilly said.

"They built everything from the ground up."

"Wow, it really is true what they say about people from Vacuo. You guys are all tough."

"Surely those in the arctic are just as hardy."

"Depends, I guess. People in the capital city are pampered. They couldn't possibly survive out in the wild. I guess people in the surrounding villages would be a lot tougher, though. But still, these are people right in the middle of your kingdom's capital and they're still tough!"

"We do pride ourselves on our ability to endure any hardship," Orion said. "From what I've seen so far, I'd say you have what it takes to survive out here."

"You think so?"

"I do. Your ingenuity in your battle with your cousin was astounding. That kind of adaptive ability is paramount to survival out here."

"Well, a battle is one thing. Surviving off the land is a whole 'nother thing, I think."

"She has wisdom to tell the difference as well," Kronos said. "I think your observations are accurate, Orion."

"Do you like to read?" Juno asked.

"I do," Lilly said. "Not textbooks, though. I mostly like sci-fi and fantasy novels and short stories."

"We have similar tastes. I'm not as into science fiction myself, but I do enjoy fantasy works quite regularly. If you like, I can recommend some selections from our library for you to read on your spare time."

"Let's go after dinner, then!"


	27. Building Bridges

CHAPTER XXVII

_Building Bridges_

 

Lilly sat in the Jupiter Manor's indoor garden, reading the adventure novel Perseus's mother had helped her pick out the previous night. This particular book was part of a larger series of high fantasy novels, each one chronicling the lives of heroes among human, elf, dwarf, faerie, and demi-human populations in their battle against fallen elves, goblins, and all manner of monstrous creature bent on world conquest.

The book Juno had suggested followed the tale of a young woman who had grown up in a village far removed from the conflict the rest of the world was embroiled in. She had lived the idyllic life with her mother and father and two brothers, all of them tending to their farm. Their peace was shattered when a nearby skirmish between humans and fallen elves released one of the Ancient Ones from his ten-thousand-year slumber beneath the lake that fed their village.

That towering monster made short work of both the fallen elves and the human soldiers alike before making its way to the village to devour everyone and everything there. Eirwen, the novel's heroine, swore to do everything she could to protect her family and village. The instant she finished uttering her vow, a knightly sword of unrivaled magnificence manifested before her, speaking to her mind and granting her its power. Upon uttering the name of the sword, _Caledfwlch_ _,_ Eirwen grasped its hilt and with it, vanquished the Ancient One, ending the threat to her village.

"You're halfway through that book already?"

Lilly looked up from her book at Perseus before setting her marker and shutting it. "It's a pretty good read."

"Yeah, but, like, look how thick it is. And you're already done with half of it."

"The story's not done, though. Eirwen's adventure is, like, three books long or something."

"So, what's going on in the book now?"

"Well, Eirwen just left her village with some knight she ran into so she could train under him. She just got this new sword with a crazy name I'm not even gonna try to pronounce and I think it's magical and now she's gonna use it to help fight against the bad guys and stuff, but she doesn't know how to fight yet so she's gonna become this knight's squire for a while. They're about to meet an elf guy with a bow and arrow too and a little dwarf with an axe that's bigger than him."

"Sounds like you're really into this."

"It's really cool. I like her name, too. It's unique."

"You down for some breakfast?"

She stretched and yawned. "Sure."

"Let's go hit the city before it gets too hot out."

 

* * * * *

 

"Oooh, this is yummy!" Lilly said after biting into her sandwich, which was the first of its kind she'd ever had, fried chicken, fried eggs, and cheese with a waffle as the bread. The waffle itself was light and flaky, crispy on the outside and soft inside. The chicken breast was cooked to perfection, the breading not too heavy as to overpower the flavor of the meat itself and the eggs were just right, not too tough without being too gooey either.

"You know, I don't think I saw any chicken and waffle places back in Vale," Perseus said. "I mean, there's probably one there. We just didn't look hard enough."

"You said you used to go here every morning on the way to school?"

"Yeah. Like you, I never actually attended a primary combat school. For a long time, Vacuo didn't even have its own. Everyone just sorta did their own thing before going off to Shade Academy and stuff. For me, it was my oldest bro, Orion, who taught me how to fight and survive against the Grimm."

"I noticed he's a lot more formal than you and Dionysus. Kinda reminds me of an Atlas soldier."

He chuckled. "He'd give you a dirty look if he heard you say that. Nah, he's not into the whole organized military thing. He's just a quiet dude who takes his stuff seriously, particularly security. The responsibility just kinda fell into his lap. Dad was busy running the company back when we only dealt with Dust, mom was busy helping her sister set up the resort at the lake and also spearheading our family's entrance into the landowning sector. I think we own, like, maybe a third of all the land in this entire city."

"Wow."

"Yeah. This restaurant isn't one of them, though. The old guy doesn't wanna sell, even though mom offered him a ridiculous amount of money. Apparently his dad owned the shop and his dad's dad before that. So yeah."

"I get it. I don't know if I'd wanna sell either."

Perseus leaned back in his chair as he finished his food. He looked out the window, spotting a few familiar faces from high school. They noticed him and headed in.

"Well if it isn't the Prince of Vacuo!"

"Perseus!"

"How's life in Vale, huh?"

"And who's the pretty girl with you?"

"I'm Lilly!" she said, shaking hands with all three boys.

"Hey, wait a minute. You wouldn't be _that_ Lilly, would you? The one who friggin' went toe to toe with Ivory and matched her all the way to the very end?"

"Yeah, but I lost either way."

"Psh! That doesn't even matter! Watching her scream in frustration with every counter you did was _awesome_!"

She giggled.

"I'm Marty, by the way. This guy over here is Eddie, and the shy dumbass over there is Frank."

"You headed to the Academy right now?" Eddie asked Perseus.

"Yeah, actually," he said. "What about you guys?"

"Psh. You think we have what it takes to fight against those monsters? I value my life, thanks."

"Same," Marty said. "Besides, why do we gotta do that stuff when you two are out there kickin' serious ass already? We'd probably just get in your way."

"Anyway," Eddie said, "it's good to see you, man. We don't wanna get in the way of your date."

"Yeah, yeah," Perseus said, waving to his friends as they left. He glanced over at Lilly, who was smiling. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, still smiling. She neglected to let him know that his face was bright red. "So, we headed to Shade?"

"Yeah, let's go. The bigwigs are waiting for us."

 

* * * * *

 

"So, this might actually be it."

"Yes. She has displayed incredible power. You all saw her battle with Ivory Schnee during the Vytal Festival Tournament. And you've all seen the footage we've captured of her blinking in and out of existence."

"She truly can cross over into that other world, can she?"

"From the spatial anomalies our equipment has detected, yes. She may be the key to saving all of us."

"But is it truly necessary to subject her to such a battery? Some of these procedures will likely be painful for her, not to mention the psychological trauma."

"Well, we're not doing any of it without her consent, are we?"

"No, we aren't, but aren't we giving her a false choice?"

"I don't agree. It's still her choice. We have no intention of holding a gun to her head and making her choose."

"I suppose. Still, I can't help but have misgivings about this. Sure, it may be voluntary, but can't we find less painful methods?"

"We've already tried. These are the least painful and harmful methods we could come up with."

"Well, I'll contact your father. He'll certainly want to know that we're ready to begin."

"Are the two on their way?"

"I was just told that they have just entered the campus."

"All right. I'll get things ready on our end."

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly jogged ahead of Perseus as they came upon Shade Academy. It was warm out, not quite as hot as yesterday. Students were scattered all around, many of them lounging around on the grass and on benches, all seeking some form of shelter from the sun. The one thing that stood out to her most, though, was the utter lack of any tension in the air despite this place being a Huntsman Academy.

"Oh, hey, you two!"

"DJ!" Lilly greeted him as he walked up to them.

"C'mon, man, do you always gotta get in the conversation?" Perseus said.

"You weren't even talking, dude," Dionysus said. "So, Lilly, this your first time at Shade?"

"Mm-hmm!" she said with a big smile. "Are you a student here?"

"Yup. Third year right now, fourth year come fall quarter."

"Wait, you guys don't have summer break?"

"Of course we do."

"But, why is campus still open?"

"Why not?"

"But..."

"C'mon, I'll show you around. Can't count on my brother since he doesn't go here!"

Perseus sighed, following after them. Lilly looked all around as Dionysus gave her a tour of their campus. In the very center was a massive ziggurat-like structure, the main building which housed the numerous classrooms, training halls, gyms, and libraries. The north section of campus contained the administrative building as well as the CCTS tower. The east and west wings were comprised of the academy's living areas. The south quadrant, the front of the campus, was one enormous park, where students and visitors alike gathered for leisurely strolls and picnics.

Lilly was briefly brought back to Beacon Academy by the sound of guitar-playing and some singing. There was a small group to the side, hanging out beneath a tree. One of the guys was on his guitar while some of the other members of the group sang to his playing. Lilly caught a glimpse of Leon and Athena in her mind's eye as she passed the group. Another group up ahead was enthusiastically rehearsing a play of some sort, while another group worked on paintings together.

"This is..." Lilly began.

"Huh?" Dionysus said.

"We don't have anything at Beacon like this."

"What do you mean?"

"What is everyone doing?"

"Oh, you mean the drama kings and queens, the choir kids, and the starving artists?"

"Is that what you guys call them?" Perseus chuckled.

"Things are a bit different here than the other academies," Dionysus said. "You asked why campus was open during the summer, right?"

Lilly nodded.

"The other academies focus solely on exterminating the Grimm and turning students into merciless killing machines. Well, under the previous headmaster, Sun Wukong, Shade Academy kinda underwent a pretty drastic change. He and his buddy, who's our current headmaster, figured that killing Grimm isn't enough. The world is a vastly depressing place, our species at one point at the brink of extinction. Former headmaster Wukong and our current headmaster, Neptune Vasilias, decided to implement a new system. Every student would have two majors, so to speak."

"Two majors?" Lilly said.

"Yep. First and foremost, everyone is a Huntsman-in-training. But before enrolling, students are required to choose a secondary major, an art or science of some kind. If you meet him, Headmaster Vasilias will give you the speech, but basically it goes something like 'We Huntsmen are not mere killing machines. We are human, and it is our duty not only to exterminate the Grimm, but also to further the prosperity of mankind.' Something like that."

"Dude, that was verbatim," Perseus chuckled.

"Sweet. My memory works."

"So, what's your secondary major?" Lilly asked.

"Me?" He cleared his throat. "Well, I happen to be a very good dancer."

"What kind of dance?"

"Ballroom. Mostly Latin, though. They're the most fun. Other dances are boring."

Lilly chuckled. "Oh, hey," she said, turning to Perseus. "What extra major would you have picked if you went here instead of Beacon?"

Perseus shrugged. "Maybe rocketry or something."

"Whoa, shit!" Dionysus said. "You never said you wanted to be a rocket surgeon!"

"Rocket scientist, dude."

"Same difference! What about you, Lilly?"

"I think singing," she said.

"Oh, nice. Do you play any instruments?"

"Just the piano. Mom taught me when I was only four."

"You still play and sing?"

She nodded.

"Ah, Dionysus Jupiter," a new face greeted them.

"Headmaster Vasilias!" Dionysus said, greeting him with a fist bump.

"What the heck are you being so formal for?"

"Well, we got visitors, so they need to know who you are, boss!"

Neptune chuckled, turning to Lilly. "For the record, I go by Neptune around here. None of that 'General' crap or 'Headmaster' business."

Lilly giggled as she shook his hand.

"Huh. You really are her spitting image. Just, not her eyes."

"You know my mom?"

"Not as well as I woulda liked, but yeah, I went to Beacon's dance with her."

"Oh, cool!"

"Perseus! Did you finally decide to transfer over to a better academy?"

Perseus chuckled, bumping fists with Neptune. "Uh, Beacon is that way," he said, pointing to the east.

"I'm hurt! Hey, that was some good stuff at the tournament, by the way."

"Thanks, boss."

"Yo, you can't call me boss if you're not a student here."

"Yeah," Dionysus said, leaning back to back with Neptune. "You don't even go here!"

"All joking aside," Neptune began, "what exactly _are_ you two doing here?"

"We're meeting with my dad," Perseus said.

"Wait, for...?"

He nodded.

"I see. I don't wanna hold you guys up if you've got something that important to attend to. C'mon, Dionysus. I'd like your opinion on the upcoming summer festival we're gonna throw for the city."

"Sweet, I get to be on the planning committee?" he said.

"You know the crowd better than anyone else." Neptune turned to the other two. "Whenever you guys find free time, feel free to treat Shade as your home away from home, okay? Especially you, Lilly."

"Thanks!" she said, watching as he and Dionysus headed off toward the main building. "So, Perseus, what made you decide not to go here and attend Beacon instead? I mean, this campus looks really relaxed and super full of culture. Not that Beacon's all rigid like Atlas, but still."

He shrugged. "I dunno. Orion graduated from here before establishing Dawn Primary Combat School, Vacuo's first official primary combat school, and Dionysus is about to graduate, too. I figure maybe I'd try something new."

"Well, I'm glad you joined us at Beacon. Team APEX wouldn't be the same without you."

He reddened as he led the way to the main building. "C'mon. The lab's in the basement."

"Lab?" Lilly said, closing her eyes as a blast of cold air hit her the instant they set foot inside the central building. "Oooh, that feels so good."

Perseus chuckled. "Yeah, the project involves some of the big brains that attend this school."

"Oh, right, because you guys have a big science department, too."

"Yup. The main guy who runs the lab downstairs is Dr. Cherenkov, an expert in the field of particle physics and quantum mechanics."

"Whoa. I just suddenly got a flashback."

Perseus turned to her and pushed up imaginary glasses, making her laugh out loud.

"Perfect!"

"Hai, Riri-chan!"

She laughed even louder, putting her hands to her abdomen as she boarded the elevator with her companion. It took the entire ride to calm herself back down. There were tears in her eyes as the elevator arrived at their floor.

"I miss everybody," Lilly said.

"Yeah, same," Perseus said. "We'll be back before the summer's over anyway, so there's that."

Despite its location beneath Shade Academy's main building, the underground Rift Complex's architecture was taken straight out of another world altogether. Gone were the warm colors of the upper world, the sandy stones and seemingly rough surfaces. This place was immaculate, reminding Lilly too much of Atlas with the overabundance of stainless steels and gray concrete.

"What's that smell?" she said as they headed down the halls to the compound.

"Probably the cleaning solutions," Perseus said. "This is my first time down here. I'm surprised the guard didn't check us for ID or anything. Then again, knowing my dad, he already gave them our descriptions."

"So your family really went all out into the market. You guys went from nothing but Dust all the way to advanced tech research."

"This is relatively new stuff, actually. Dad and mom mostly concerned themselves with practical markets, like household wares and luxury items, eventually getting into military technology. This cutting edge science stuff was only started, like, maybe four years ago. Before us, Hillphire Tech was the only group in the entire world even getting their feet wet in the field. But now, we exchange information with them on a regular basis."

"Not Atlas, though, I assume."

"No, but corporate espionage has told us that they're just as far along in their research as we and Hillphire Tech are."

"How?"

He shrugged. "Maybe they've stolen secrets along the way. Who knows? Although the rumors are that aliens have given them knowledge or something."

Lilly chuckled. "That sounds like something I've seen on TV once."

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if that really were the case. I've met Dr. Cherenkov once, when I was still a high school sophomore. I'm pretty sure he's an alien."

She giggled as he led the way into the compound. They were in an antechamber, separated from the rest of the compound by heavily reinforced glass and steel.

"What's with the ultra thick doors and windows?" Lilly said.

Perseus shrugged. "Honestly, I can't decide which I find more unsettling."

"What do you mean?"

"When you see glass and steel that thick, you have to ask yourself. Is it there to keep us out? Or to keep something _in_?"

Lilly felt her skin crawl. She had seen her fair share of things in the Labyrinth. If this facility was dedicated to researching that subject, it only made sense to build such thick barriers to protect the outside world in case an experiment went awry. Still, some of the monsters she had faced were larger than this whole building. Would these doors even hold?

"Ah, welcome to Shade's underground lab," Kronos Jupiter's voice sounded as he approached them from behind. "You got here before I did."

"Well, you _are_ a busy guy, dad," Perseus said.

"Not too busy for my family, I hope," he said, giving his son a warm embrace. He turned to Lilly, pausing for a moment. "I understand that you've volunteered yourself for these experiments. Before we go in there, I want to ask you personally. Do you truly wish to proceed?"

Lilly didn't answer for a bit.

"According to what I've been told, some of what they will subject you to may be quite uncomfortable, downright painful at times. Do you still wish to continue?"

"Wait, painful?" Perseus said. "You never said anything about that before!"

"Yes, I was not aware of it until two hours ago myself. Dr. Cherenkov assures me that they've done all they can to find the least invasive and least traumatic methods, but they could not formulate a completely pain-free battery."

"If I knew that this was gonna be the case, I never woulda brought her here—"

"I'll do it," Lilly said resolutely.

"Lilly!"

"If this is what it takes to save as many people as possible, I'll do it."

"But—"

"No, Perseus. I already had a feeling this might be the case. Besides, I've been through worse in the Labyrinth. I know what I'm getting myself into."

"Are you certain of this?" Kronos said.

She gave him a single nod. "Let's go."

"Very well, then."

"Dad!" Perseus said.

"Perseus, I've made my choice," Lilly said. "It would...it would be nice to have your support on this."

He stared into her light-brown hazel eyes for a while. There wasn't a single doubt behind them. The doubt was all in his own head. But she was right. It was about time she had someone's backing on this hellish ordeal she'd already been subjecting herself to for the past few months.

"I'm on your side," he declared.

She gave him a smile before nodding to Kronos.

"Okay," the head of the Jupiter family said, leading the way into the decontamination airlock. "This gate will scrub you two free of particles that may interfere with the work inside the lab. Just stand normal when it's your turn."

Lilly was the last to go through the scrubber. She closed her eyes as a blast of air enveloped her body.

_Lilly._

She flinched as she caught a glimpse of herself in her mind's eye, that darkened version, a side of her she never thought could exist. Those visions increased in frequency the more time she spent in the Labyrinth. At first, she attributed it to hallucinations brought on by exposing herself to such horrid imagery, but with each manifestation, she became more and more convinced that it was a real thing, something she could not yet explain.

_Please, leave me in peace today. I have important things to take care of._

_Don't ignore me, Lilly._

"This way, please," Kronos said, guiding the duo to the back of the lab.

Lilly and Perseus looked all around at the unfamiliar pieces of equipment, most of which were enormous in size. It was no wonder they had to build this facility underground. None of this would fit anywhere upstairs.

"President Jupiter," Dr. Cherenkov greeted as the group neared his workstation. "Ah, and the young prince himself, Perseus. And the princess of Atlas. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lilly Schnee."

Lilly curtseyed with a smile.

"Mister President."

"She already gave me her verbal consent," Kronos said, anticipating his question.

"I see. Miss Schnee, I am nonetheless obliged to inform you of what you may experience during our experiments. Physical pain is a possibility, although given your gifts, it may not be as bad as we anticipate, although none of us can say for certain just how it will feel."

"I know," she said. "I understand all of the risks. I might even die during the experiments."

"Nothing we have planned will put you in that kind of danger."

"Our work is gonna involve sending me into the Labyrinth and figuring out a way to go back and forth at will without having to search for unstable points in the space-time fabric, right?"

Cherenkov and the others were dumbfounded at her knowledge of the subject.

"Have you done some reading?" he asked.

"A little," she said. "I mostly ran into it all by accident. I think Dr. Hillphire is also researching the topic, right? Well, I looked up some of the published articles he wrote through Beacon Academy's library and some of the theories he discusses involve parallel worlds and the thin veil that separates them. Certain fluctuations in space-time stability are expressed in magnetic field disruptions, gravitational anomalies, and the emergence of subatomic particles seemingly out of nowhere, right?"

"Dude," Perseus said, his mouth as wide open as his eyes. "You're literally channeling Xanthus right now."

She pushed up imaginary eyeglasses. "This whole subject has to do with me. Of course I got curious. I still don't totally understand the theory behind quantum mechanics other than it deals with really, really tiny scales."

"That's the basic idea, yes," Dr. Cherenkov said. "Still, I am very impressed. If you would like to borrow some of my textbooks, you are more than welcome to. I am also holding physics courses during the summer. I wouldn't mind waiving your tuition if you would like to join in."

She smiled. "Thanks, but I don't wanna hold your class back. Besides, I'm no scientist. I'm a warrior. My place is in the Labyrinth."

"Tell me, Miss Schnee, what exactly do you see in that other world? We have succeeded in the past in opening up a path between our world and that world and also in sending objects through, but we have never retrieved anything we have sent. Unfortunately, this also means that we are still powerless to save anyone who has gone missing in the Labyrinth."

"Well, as far as I can tell, the other side is almost an exact replica of the real world, but there are some differences. Like, it can be an exact copy, but with no people other than you and, I guess others if they get lost there, too. As far as I can tell, no monsters exist in this top layer of the Labyrinth. There's another version that _does_ have monsters that's always covered in fog and it's pretty dangerous cuz you can't see anything past, like, a hundred feet or so. But then there's also another variation where everything is super dark, like, so dark that even if you shined a flashlight the light itself won't go any further than fifteen yards."

"Is that one filled with monsters as well?" Dr. Cherenkov asked.

"Yeah. A lot of monsters."

"Like the Grimm?" Kronos said.

Lilly shook her head. "Nothing like them. I can't...I can't even describe them to you. The Grimm, they're no different from wild animals, really, just that they're super ferocious and they target anything related to humans, but the Corrupted, they're totally different."

"Is that what you've come to call them?" Dr. Cherenkov said.

She nodded. "It's like they're corruptions of the real world. The super dark version of the Labyrinth is also really decrepit, rust everywhere, broken streets, rotting wood..." she paused. "And lots of blood and...parts. Parts everywhere."

"Parts?" Perseus said before quickly realizing what she meant. "I see."

"So, three different variations of the Labyrinth?" Dr. Cherenkov said. "Each one with its own characteristics. How do you travel from one variant to the other?"

"It just happens," Lilly said. "I could be walking around in the perfect replica, and then a fog would just come out nowhere and obscure everything around me. Or the daytime would turn into nighttime and the environment would rot away. And then I'd be back in the sunny replica without people."

"I see."

"Oh, there's a special version, too. Whenever I...uh, when I try and save people who are trapped in their own Labyrinths, the world around is a really twisted reflection of what's in his or her heart, like, the real-world location of their trauma would match the Labyrinth location, but that building would be totally warped compared to the actual building. For example, one of the people I just finished saving, a guy named James, his Labyrinth was located in his apartment building, but the whole building was turned into one of those really old insane asylums, with barred windows and lots and lots of locked doors. It was really hard to get around, too. I couldn't even use my runes to break down the doors and stuff. I had to go all around the place finding keys and hidden passwords for combination locks and all sorts of weird stuff."

"That sounds like a friggin' videogame," Perseus said.

"Pretty much, except that you don't have extra lives."

He shivered at the thought.

"You mentioned your runes," Dr. Cherenkov said.

Lilly held out her hand, manifesting a Water Rune in the air above her palm.

"It's just like the Schnee Semblance," Kronos said. "Except that it's not a glyph. It seems to behave like one, though."

"No, this is most definitely like what we saw almost two decades ago," Dr. Cherenkov said. "You remember that war, don't you?"

"I do." He turned to Lilly. "Does your mother still have her power?"

"She doesn't use it anymore," Lilly said, the Water Rune disappearing as she lowered her hand. "At least, the first time I ever saw her use it was at the Vytal Festival when we were comparing magic."

"I see. Even without any exercise, she still possesses tremendous power. Perhaps it is something inherent to her and her alone. I am curious as to why your runes manifest in a manner similar to your family's Semblance, though."

"Perhaps it is a form of fusion between two systems," Dr. Cherenkov said. "At least, that's what I hypothesize."

"Lilly, you can still back out of this, you know," Perseus said quietly.

She shook her head. "I'm already committed, Perseus. I committed a long time ago, when I first decided to save people in the Labyrinth."

He sighed heavily. "Can I at least go in with you?"

"Not until we know how to deal with the creatures there," Kronos said. "It's not that I don't trust your ability to stay alive—I watched you and your team handle your tournament matches with ease—it's that I don't want to send you into a place with literally zero intel. And let's face it, none of us have the kind of power that Lilly possesses."

"Your dad's right," Lilly said. "So just trust in me for now, okay?"

Perseus sighed again before nodding.

"Mm-kay, Dr. Cherenkov. What do you want me to do first?"

"Let's go to the Alpha Core," he said, leading the way.

The heart of the subterranean facility was massive, arranged in a hexagonal fashion. Each point in the hexagon was an elevated station manned by workers in lab coats and a few security personnel. Below each station, at the ground level, were massive, ring-shaped machines unfamiliar to both Lilly and Perseus. Each ring had an antenna-like structure jutting out toward the middle of the hexagonal arrangement of stations.

The inner sanctum, where the giant machines were located, was separated from the outer sector by an incredibly thick blast wall, which looked like it could easily contain even Lilly's most powerful destructive spells. She wondered just what kind of activity went on down there that warranted such protective measures.

In the very center of the cavernous chamber was a circular region cordoned off by a small, waist-high barricade, marked off by a red warning circle on the ground just a few feet before the banister itself. The absolute middle of this array was a smaller circle. Lilly presumed that this was the location of the focal point of the artificial rift the machines would generate.

"Where the hell did Shade Academy get the funding to build something this friggin' huge underground?" Perseus said, marveling at the gargantuan subterranean structure. "From one end to the other, just how big is this place? And from the ground to the ceiling?"

"From the inner edge of one control station across to the other," Dr. Cherenkov began, "it's approximately one hundred meters."

"With the actual workstations included in the mix, we're looking at a big circle around a hundred and fifty meters in diameter."

"That is correct. And from the center of the inner sanctum to the apex of the dome is about fifty meters. The arrangement of particle accelerators and their resonance emitters was crucial to our work of destabilizing space-time right in the center. Are you aware of the term 'resonance frequency'?"

"I think I've heard my combat partner mention that before. It's the whole thing about how certain materials can tear themselves apart at certain frequencies, right? Like wine glasses if you sing into them at a certain pitch really loud?"

"Textbook definition. Well, in short, the fabric of space-time also has its own resonance frequency, the frequency at which it begins to tear. The particle accelerators we employ provide the necessary amplitude while the resonance emitters provide the necessary frequency. All six machines are calibrated to provide an exact frequency to the very center. Each one needs to work together in balance in order to create a tear in space-time."

"I think I get it. It sorta functions as a kind of safety, to keep the tear from getting too big, right?"

"Correct. No one engine has the power to create a complete destabilization of space-time, and a minor maladjustment in any results in rift failure."

Lilly maintained her silence as she listened in on the conversation between Perseus and Dr. Cherenkov. While the techno babble was enlightening, it was hardly a concern for her. Her focus was on her mission, to head into the Labyrinth and save people.

"Miss Schnee," Dr. Cherenkov said to her. "Are you ready?"

She gave a single nod, continuing to stare through the thick glass into the inner sanctum. She couldn't help but notice the resemblance between the arrangement of this entire structure and her magical runes. If she didn't know any better, she might even go so far as to say that she was standing directly on top of a building-sized rune.

As Dr. Cherenkov issued orders to each of the other stations, the six particle accelerators and their paired resonance emitters began to hum to life. Lilly wondered how much power this whole operation drained from the academy. Or perhaps the city.

_"Rift Engine One is online and operating at full capacity."_

_"Rift Engine Two online and at full capacity."_

_"Rift Engine Three is a go."_

_"Rift Engine Four is a go."_

_"Rift Engine Five, we are a go."_

_"Rift Engine Six, everything is on the line."_

"Dr. Cherenkov, all systems are go," an assistant said.

"Very well," he said. "Open the rift."

"Detecting electromagnetic shifts in the inner sanctum. Minor gravitational anomalies present. Space-time destabilization complete."

Contrary to Perseus's expectations, there was no light show, no magnificent explosions, not even the crackling of electricity. He looked around. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but nothing in the inner sanctum had changed.

Lilly was the only living being here who could perceive the alteration.

"Before you proceed," Dr. Cherenkov began as an assistant brought out a small backpack, "there are a few things we would like you to bring with you. First is a radio. We would like to see if it is possible to communicate between the worlds and also if electronics work at all. Everything you will be bringing with you has been designed to be as rugged as possible, including the cameras and microphones. We are also hoping that they will capture some kind of footage of your experiences there, though I am not too expectant, given the alien nature of the other side."

"Also, don't stray too far from here," Kronos said. "Your only goal today is strictly reconnaissance. Map out the other side mentally, or draw a map if that's your thing, and then come back so we can review the footage and audio. There's no need to engage any hostiles or venture beyond Academy grounds."

"If you have no questions," Dr. Cherenkov began, "you may proceed at your own leisure. The rift will remain open for as long as the Rift Engines maintain their frequencies."

She gave Perseus a glance as she slung the rucksack over her back, clicking the sternum and waist straps securely. Her companion's face was painted with worry. She gave him a tiny smile of reassurance, but it wasn't enough to combat the concern filling every fiber of his being.

Without a word, she left the control station, not a doubt in her mind. The march through the vast inner sanctum was long. She felt the eyes of dozens of men and women above, each one of them in wonder as to what a single girl could possibly accomplish in an alien world where the very environment was hostile to the living.

She crossed over the red line, climbing over the barricade and walking all the way to the very center. She felt the shift in the ether, just like every other time she would walk into these fissures in space-time. She looked around, expecting to see everyone vanish until it was only her in the empty Labyrinth, but instead, right before her eyes, as her companions faded into nothingness, her environment began to decay and rust, the lights flickering and fading until it was pitch black. Completely engulfed by the darkness, this yawning cavern was even emptier than before and Lilly felt a chill run up and down her spine.

"Here goes nothing," she said aloud as she summoned some light with a Fire Rune.


	28. Outsider

CHAPTER XXVIII

_Outsider_

 

Lilly had formed a mental map of her surroundings when she finally decided to take a break from exploring these dark halls, settling in one of the control stations in the outer ring. As expected, she was in a lightless, dilapidated version of the laboratory beneath Shade Academy. She had yet to make her way to the surface, but she needed to reorient herself before ascending. There were no Corrupted down here, but she fully expected there to be plenty upstairs.

"Okay," she said aloud before putting down the equipment on a table, her light source born from a Fire Rune continuing to float around her like a lantern. "This thing's actually working, right?"

She removed the camera strapped to her head. The red light was blinking, but she wouldn't know if it was actually capturing anything until she returned to the real world. The same went for the microphone hooked on to her backpack's strap. She reached into her rucksack for something to eat. The team back in the real world had packed a number of high-calorie, nutrition-dense food for her just in case she failed to return to the real world right away.

_That's a scary thought._

After going through the equipment and making sure everything was working—if blinking red lights meant working—she strapped everything back on before moving her head to speak into her radio microphone. She had yet to receive a transmission from the other end, but she would continue to communicate anyway just in case they were getting something from her.

"I've been wandering through these halls for about a half hour now," she said. "No monsters yet, but I figure that's because there's only one way in and out of this place, the front of the lab where the elevator shaft is and the stairwell down the hall from it. Everything is just as I expected, rust everywhere, rotting wood, and lots of blood, even though I have yet to run into anything. Fingers crossed I didn't just jinx myself, by the way. Oh, but the thing you guys really gotta see is all the darkness. Even with a fireball floating around me, it doesn't illuminate anything beyond fifty feet. Almost like the darkness itself eats away at any light.

"Anyway, that's the last of my transmission for now. I mostly have to keep quiet in case any of those things are out there. Some of them have hearing better than dogs and just breathing too hard will catch their attention. This is Lilly Schnee, out."

She drew Myrtenaster before heading out of the lab, making her way straight to the stairwell. Taking an elevator in such a decrepit world was probably not the best of ideas. Upon arriving at ground level, she leaned against the door to listen for anything in the hall outside. There was nothing. She pushed the door open, cringing as it creaked with the loudest noise possible, but when she emerged into the corridor, no monsters came in response to the metallic groan.

_That should have attracted every Corrupted within a mile. Oh well, no use complaining._

She made her way straight to the exit, stepping out into a horrid version of Shade Academy's beautiful courtyard. The extensive parkland had been transformed into a nightmarish version of itself, the grass replaced by a carpet of skin and the trees supplanted by giant ribcages still partially covered with flesh and flood.

Scenery this ghastly could only serve one purpose: to indicate that something was nearby, something with so much magical power that it warped the very world around it. She had encountered this thing once before, catching mere glimpses of it in the past. All she knew was that whenever the landscape underwent this ghoulish transformation, it was a signal that it was close.

Her skin crawled just walking in the direction that the sensation came from. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to run away, but she was resolute on finding the source of this phenomenon. The Labyrinth she knew had four distinct layers, the empty world, the foggy world, the dark world, and the individual-specific, personal Labyrinths. This hellish version, however, crossed all of the boundaries that separated the others from one another. It didn't matter which layer she was in, this nightmare could invade it at any time.

Lightning flashed in the distance, giving her a brief glimpse of something unsettling in the distance. It was for a split second, but she could have sworn that the lightning illuminated a massive, serpentine arrangement of bones. The flash only lit up a small portion of said bones, but from its scale alone, Lilly estimated that the whole sky might be covered in a web of spines and ribcages.

The nearer she came to the source of that intense terror, the more powerful the instinct to flee grew. Her heart was pounding, breathing just as rapid, her hand quaking despite her white-knuckled grip on the weapon her mother had bequeathed unto her for her stay at Beacon Academy.

She arrived at the front gate to Shade Academy. There was no one else here, but this spot, right where she stood, drove an intense sensation of dread into her heart. The gate itself was constructed not of metal, but of a patchwork of the skins of people with their innards removed, their bones serving as the skeleton of the gate and walls and other things around.

"I don't know if you guys are picking this up," she said into her microphone, "and I have no idea if the cameras can see this, but...I can't even...begin to..."

She had no words to describe the intense emotions forcing their way into her soul. One stood out above the rest, however.

Panic.

The paralyzing effect overpowered the urge to flee, even more so than the resoluteness of her mind, which was slowly beginning to crust away.

There was a presence behind her. She gripped Myrtenaster tightly until her fingers went numb. No doubt, this was a fight or flight response, the most intense she had ever experienced. She steeled herself for battle, her mind already fabricating an unsightly opponent, one with perhaps too many limbs, or with a smile that was uncannily large, or eyes and mouths all over the body, particularly in places they did not belong.

She turned to face the thing that drove such a state of terror into her. What stood before her was a mirror, one quite elegant in design. It sat in the middle of the pathway, beckoning her to near it. Something about this mirror was incredibly sinister, however, and she readied herself to flee, but her feet began to move of their own accord.

Her whole body trembled as she neared the broken glass, her many cloudy reflections slowly coming into focus. She was ten feet away when her commands to her feet finally went through and she stopped. The glass was broken into seven sections, each one casting varied reflections of her. Most of the reflections were incomplete. One was missing her head, another failed to show her feet. Another was not large enough to reveal her hands, while another excised all of her limbs and her head. A tiny peace showed only her eye. A more disconcerting one showed her facing the other direction.

But there was one section that showed a perfect reflection of her, though the "perfection" was broken by the fact that this copy did not do what she did. It was its own existence, independent of Lilly Schnee.

Or perhaps it, among the others, was the truest reflection of Lilly Schnee, the side of her that was broken beyond repair, the Lilly that refused to show that fake smile, the Lilly that refused to dress in overly bright clothing, the Lilly that no one ever saw.

This reflection of herself was the opposite of everything she was, a Lilly Schnee full of absolute hatred, anger in its totality, the very fulfillment of bitterness and enmity. These sensations began to invade her heart and she found herself screaming a soundless scream as the shards of the mirror flew out at her and pierced deep into her flesh.

 

* * * * *

 

Ignoring the countless commands from the technicians and disregarding his own safety, Perseus hurdled over the protective barriers, running all the way to the center of the inner sanctum and diving headlong into the destabilized field to cradle Lilly, who was letting out a scream unlike anything he had ever heard.

"Lilly," he said, a fruitless effort to calm her down. "I'm right here. You're back in the real world."

His words finally managed to reach her ears and she turned to him, horror masking her face.

"Perseus?" she said, her voice tiny.

He gave her a nod and she embraced him tightly, sobbing as she tried to push those horrible sensations out of her mind, but it was all in vain. That darkness somehow anchored itself permanently to her and despite turning away from it, she could feel it persist.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

She pulled away, taking a step back, partly out of shame. "Yeah, I'm okay," she lied. She was most definitely _not_ okay. "I just..."

"Is that what you go through in the Labyrinth every time you cross over?"

She didn't answer. This was nothing like any other incursion into that world. To face that kind of darkness born of her own heart was something she could never have prepared for.

"I've been through worse," she lied again. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"Do you have any injuries?" Dr. Cherenkov said as a team of medical personnel entered the circle. "We've stabilized the rift, so there's no need to worry about being drawn back into the other world."

"No, I'm not injured," Lilly said. "Did you receive any of my transmissions?"

"We received something, but none of our equipment can decipher it. Also, I have a question for you. How long would you approximate you were on the other side for?"

"Probably about an hour."

"What?" Perseus said.

"Huh?"

"Yes, I share his incredulity," Dr. Cherenkov said. "From the moment you vanished into thin air to the instant you reappeared, only ten minutes lapsed."

She raised an eyebrow.

"It seems there is a discrepancy in time passage between this world and the Labyrinth."

"No, there must be some kind of mistake," she said. "I've been in the Labyrinth lots of times in the past, but..."

He awaited an answer, ultimately suggesting they go to a recovery room to continue their conversation. Lilly was glad to have a bottle of some ice cold water, though it did little to alleviate the true scars that were carved on her soul.

"Thanks," she said to the technician, who smiled as she took the empty bottle away.

"If you need time, it's all right if we do this later," Dr. Cherenkov said.

"No, I need to get it out while it's fresh. You said that I was only gone for ten minutes?"

"That's right."

"I see. Then it must be the darkest version of the Labyrinth that does it."

"Does what?" Kronos asked.

"Whenever I cross over, if it's the empty, daytime world I'm in or the foggy world, there's no time difference between the Labyrinth and the real world. Going straight into the darkest version isn't really super common, so I can't really be a hundred percent sure, but I think I do remember a few instances in the past when I would be in the darkest Labyrinth and I'd remember being there longer than the actual time that passed in the real world, like, I would be wandering around for hours, but the clocks outside would only have progressed by a fraction of that."

"Hmm," Dr. Cherenkov said. "So, this world exists in layers, and the deeper one goes, the greater the incongruity between it and the real world."

"That makes a lot of sense, actually. The Labyrinth is really nothing more than a physical manifestation of the subconscious of humans, with specific Labyrinths fully reflecting their mental state. The first layer, then, which is an exact copy of the real world, must be the representation of the general subconscious."

"Yes, while the layer below is perpetually covered in fog to represent the obscure subconscious fears and desires that we possess."

"And the darkest layer is the part of ourselves that we actively deny while the fourth and final layer is specific to the individual."

"And from your descriptions of those individual Labyrinths, I would add that perhaps it's a representation of active trauma that person is suffering."

She looked down at the ground. It wasn't just the monsters that represented those people's trauma. The very environment itself was oppressive to the core.

"I think Lilly should take a break from this stuff," Perseus said.

"But I've only gone in once," she said, looking him in the eye.

"Once is enough for the day. It's pretty obvious you've gone through some pretty intense shit just now and you should rest. I think Dr. Cherenkov and my dad would agree with me that your well-being is way more important than any progress we could make."

"Yes, I do agree with the young man," Dr. Cherenkov said. "In addition, my staff and I still need to sift through all of the data the equipment hopefully picked up, assuming the recording equipment functioned properly. Given the unclear quality of your radio transmissions, I do not hold too much hope, but I try and maintain my optimism."

"What time is it?" Lilly said.

"Just about lunchtime," Perseus said.

She looked down at the ground, continuing to fight off the trauma from that experience in the other world. After gathering herself, she turned back to her companion, giving him the brightest smile she could muster.

"I wanna see your city!" she said.

"W-What?" Perseus said.

"Show me around. I've never been in Vacuo before."

"You should take her to the lake resort," Kronos said. "It won't be nearly as hot there as in the middle of the city."

"I guess we could go hit the nearest bazaar," Perseus said.

"Cool!"

"What do you think?" Kronos said to Dr. Cherenkov as the two youngsters left the laboratory compound.

"I think that we may be in over our heads," he said. "The only reason she can survive in that other world is because of her magical power. Only Weiss Schnee could be capable of the same thing."

"And her father."

"Yes, but there's nothing we can do about that now. I'm going to look over the data for the time being. I'll report to you as soon as I find something."

 

* * * * *

 

Downtown Vacuo was lively, allowing Lilly to at least temporarily escape from that nightmare she had just endured. She looked left and right as vendor after vendor peddled their wares in hopes of snaring her and her money. She entertained a few of them, particularly a woman who was selling cute summer dresses, but she was mostly out here to get some fresh air, even though the air was just as hot as it was yesterday. Still, she preferred the heat over the cold.

"Oh, a pond!" she said, jogging ahead of her companion.

Perseus chuckled as she sat at the edge of the small body of water in the middle of a park. They had both changed clothes for their stroll through downtown, him in shorts and a tank top and a pair of flip flops while she opted for a white and blue summer dress and sandals topped off with a wide-brimmed straw hat with a powder blue bow that matched the one in her hair, which she wore down today with a ponytail separated from the rest of her platinum locks.

"You guys have water lilies here, too!" she said, holding a white and orange one out for him. "But I think the ones here are a different species from the ones back in Oasis and Vale."

"Well, I mean, it's a whole 'nother continent, so yeah," he said.

"I know orange isn't your favorite color, but I don't think flowers grow in bronze."

He chuckled as he accepted the flower. "Thanks. I'll, uh, wear it in my hair, I guess."

She giggled, tucking a white and blue one under her hat's band beside the blue bow. She led the way down the streets. None of the buildings here were as big as the ones in Vale or Atlas. Vacuo had decided to sprawl instead of building upwards. There certainly was plenty of room in the desert to do so, especially with the new water source flowing underground from the north.

_"Hey, isn't that the Schnee girl?"_

_"Yeah, I think so. Nobody else in the world has white hair like that."_

_"Oh, but she's not the one who won the tournament though."_

_"Yeah, that was a different Schnee."_

_"The stronger Schnee, obviously."_

That last comment stung a little, but Lilly let it roll off her shoulders. Her mother had been right that winning the tournament mattered little. She grew in her own way after her defeat at the hands of her cousin during that match. And besides, that wasn't her place anymore. Her place was going through that other world doing everything she could to save people's souls.

_That's right. I'm gonna save the whole world. Even you, Ivory. No, especially you._

"What a bunch of dicks," Perseus mumbled.

"Huh?" Lilly said.

"Nothing. Just overheard a bunch of dicks being dicks."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. It doesn't bother me."

"Doesn't change the fact that they're dicks."

She chuckled. "Hey, Perseus."

He looked over at her.

"Thanks for standing up for me."

He began to redden.

"I mean, not just about those guys talking about all that, but also your concern just before, during, and right after the experiment. I mean it."

"I'm not about to just hand you over to the wolves, you know."

"You mean..."

"The Beowolves?" they said together, after which she immediately giggled.

"It's like Leon and Athena are here without actually being here," Perseus said.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "Let's go get some ice cream!"

 After a light snack, they continued to explore. Unfortunately, given its immense sprawl, it was impossible to cover the entire city in a single day and by the time they finished their circuit, the sun was already touching the horizon.

"Hey," Perseus began. "I really hope you don't let what any of these people say get to you."

"What do you mean?" Lilly said.

"You're not weak at all."

He was referring to the numerous passing comments strangers would make about the Schnee girl in the middle of Vacuo, the girl who was probably pampered and never had to get her hands dirty. Naturally, they were completely wrong about her, but she didn't fight any of the accusations. Her pride wasn't at all important to her.

"They just don't know you, that's all," he continued.

She gave him a smile. "Thanks."

"We should probably head back to the house. Supper will be cold by the time we get there."

"Hang on. Have you ever gone flying?"

"Sure. We all did on the first day at Beacon Academy, remember?"

She chuckled. "Please, don't remind me of that terrible day."

"Psh, you did awesome."

"By total luck!"

"I don't believe in luck. I believe in destiny."

"I thought only Leon was capable of such cheesy lines."

He laughed. "Why do you ask anyway?"

She smirked before drawing Myrtenaster and aiming it at the ground before her. " _Ritter von Remnant, ich beschwöre dich. Komm an meine seite._ "

Her old summoning rune appeared on the earth before her knight emerged, standing before her with a bow.

"Okay, you carry Perseus," she said to her companion, who nodded.

"Wait, what?" Perseus said, but the knight was already lifting him up and forcing him to ride piggyback before he could even protest. "Oh, c'mon! I can fly on my own!"

"No you can't," Lilly said with a chuckle.

"Psh. Sure I can."

Lilly giggled before pointing Myrtenaster at her group, creating runes at each one's feet. " _Verbreite deine flügel und fliege durch den himmel_!"

"Whoa," Perseus said as Lilly and the knight began floating from the ground.

"Okay, let's go!" Lilly said as she and her knight rocketed into the air, leaping from rune to rune as they soared through the skies at the same altitude as some of the lower-flying airships.

Perseus looked down at Vacuo. This was the first time he'd ever gotten such a view of his hometown and it was nothing short of breathtaking. He glanced over at Lilly, who had a smile plastered all over her face as she flew alongside her knight, which held onto Perseus with a secure grip.

He couldn't help but notice the vast difference between the Lilly Schnee of their initiation day and the girl soaring through the heavens alongside him and her knight. Gone was the apprehensive girl that didn't even know the difference between Grimm types. She was replaced by an intrepid warrior who made regular incursions into a world that would entrap anyone else who ventured into it.

Still, he was amazed at the confidence oozing from her right now. The smile on her face bordered on smugness. It certainly was refreshing to witness that beautiful flower finally bloom after all this time.

"Here we go!" Lilly cried out as they began their dive toward the Jupiter manor.

"Whaaaa!" Perseus yelled, their freefall completely unhindered until just before impact, upon which Lilly projected a dozen runes between themselves and the earth, slowing them down to a soft landing.

"Whew! I thought I messed up the timing that time!"

"You what!"

"Just kidding!" she giggled.

"Oh my gods!"

"Yo, holy shit, did you guys just fly in?" Dionysus said as he walked up to them.

"Hey, DJ!" Lilly said.

"Sup, Lilly. Uh, is that a knight?"

"Yup. He's my knight."

Perseus was trembling as the knight let him back down on the ground. "Man, what a rush," he said. "I don't think we flew anywhere near that high during initiation."

"I've actually been experimenting with getting even higher," Lilly said. "The highest I've gone so far is just below some clouds, but I wanna get above them someday."

"I don't think that's gonna be a problem for you."

Lilly smiled before turning to her knight and curtseying. " _Ich danke dir für deine hilfe_. _Bitte kehren sie dorthin zurück, wo sie hergekommen sind_."

The knight bowed to her before fading away into twinkles of light.

"That's so cool," Dionysus said. "I don't think even your cousin has ever summoned anything like that. All she does is Grimm and robots."

"You're really attached to that thing, aren't you?" Perseus said.

"Well, I mean he's saved my life so many times already," Lilly said. "Plus, he's really handy to have around."

"Maybe it's him," he said, leading the way to the house.

"Hmm?"

"That face that you drew. Maybe that's what's beneath the helmet."

"Huh. I never really gave it any thought. Never asked him to take off his helmet or even raise his visor either."

"Maybe you should take a peek the next time you summon him."


	29. A Single Ray of Light on the Battlefield

CHAPTER XXIX

_A Single Ray of Light on the Battlefield_

 

Lilly gasped for air as she was hurled hard into a concrete wall, the impact knocking the wind out of her lungs. Her Earth Rune strengthening spells were enough to keep her aura from breaking—along with her bones—but it didn't stop pain. She scrambled away as her enemy hurled a boulder in her direction, only barely missing and destroying the building she had been leaning against.

" _Teufelsatem_!"

Lilly's fireball connected with the Lesser Ogre, but did little damage. These things were as tough as their gigantic Greater Ogre counterparts, though obviously not anywhere near as big. The ogre countered with its own magic attack, sending a trio of fireballs her way. She summoned a Shield Rune, deflecting all of the attacks before conjuring up a Wind Rune.

" _Blitzstrahl_!"

A powerful bolt of lightning struck the Lesser Ogre, stunning it for a bit and giving Lilly the opening she needed. She projected a number of runes in the air before launching herself forward with so much force that her swing cut right through the ogre's thick carapace and its head went flying off.

She panted, landing several yards away from her opponent, which fell with a heavy thud. She looked to her knight, which was joining her after defeating its own opponent, a monstrous mix between bear and wolf.

"Okay, let's keep going," she said to her knight, which nodded as it followed after her.

 

* * * * *

 

"It seems her radio transmissions are going through this time," Dr. Cherenkov said.

"Do you think it's because of the layer of the Labyrinth she's in?" Perseus said.

"It's likely. That third layer, the one shrouded in darkness, seems to be the most distorted of the three general Labyrinth layers. The first two have low distortion, hence the identical time flow and our ability to communicate with her."

"Lilly, can you hear me?" Perseus said into a microphone.

"Yeah...not exactly...brea...up..."

"Adjust the frequency," Dr. Cherenkov ordered one of his technicians.

"Can you guys hear me now?" Lilly's voice came through, accompanied by heavy static.

"There's a lot of white noise, but yeah," Perseus said. "Where are you?"

"Second layer. Lots of fog everywhere. I just ascended from the third layer."

"Are you hurt?"

"Nope. Kinda hungry, though."

He chuckled. "When you get back, I'll take you out to dinner."

She giggled. "It better be a good dinner."

"You like seafood?"

"Of course I do!"

"Lobster it is, then."

"Cool! Hey, I'll get back to you guys. I think I found my target."

 

* * * * *

 

Before Lilly lay a wasteland, the Labyrinth representation of the devastation of war. Her target this time was not a single individual, but a group of them, the whole collective trapped within the trauma of war. Strewn in every direction were countless bodies, many of them not fully intact. Roaming around were monsters of every type, the Corrupted she had become so accustomed to fighting alongside newer monsters which increased in frequency, monsters that belonged in no world that the light touched.

One such monster, a jellyfish-like creature which floated over the earth using toxic gases expelled beneath as a propellant, approached her. It reached out with its tentacles, which pulsed with electrical energy. She dodged one swipe after another. Her opponent was large and strong, but far too slow for the likes of her and her knight.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" she cried out as she aimed Myrtenaster at the abomination. " _Frostatem_!"

The blast of cold air from her Water Rune froze the creature. It crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces. The fight attracted other monsters and she found herself besieged from all directions.

"Okay," she said, turning to her knight. "You ready?"

It nodded, slamming its giant sword into its chest before readying itself for battle.

"Let's go!"

Both knight and lady engaged the numberless monsters and Corrupted amid the backdrop of warfare. They were forced to dodge not only the horde of enemies, but also bombs which fell indiscriminately on the scarred landscape and gunfire which came from every direction possible.

This puzzle would be different from the other Labyrinths of the past. With each incursion, she would research her targets ahead of time, finding out their weaknesses and strengths, gradually making her way through the Labyrinths and solving problems as they arose, each problem related to whatever trauma ailed the individual. This time, though, she had no idea what each of the victims was suffering through other than general PTSD arising from their experiences of war.

She hid against what remained of a concrete barrier, catching her breath and collecting her thoughts. Her knight joined her side, also hiding from their enemies. Both glanced around the battlefield. The monsters were fighting amongst each other.

"Huh," she mumbled. "This Labyrinth is pretty strong if it can influence monsters to participate in its delusion, too."

Her knight placed its hand on her shoulder and she looked at him, following his gaze as he pointed out to the horizon. In the distance was what appeared to be an outpost.

"Nice," she said. "If there's anywhere we'll find the victims of this Labyrinth, it's gonna be at a military base. Here's hoping they're all in the same spot. What do you think, should we do this quietly, or should we fly?"

Her knight put a finger to his face.

"Aw, I was hoping we'd be able to make a ruckus this time."

He shrugged.

"Okay, let's go with your plan!"

The duo went from cover to cover, staying out of sight of the numerous creatures all around. They mostly ignored her, concentrating on gnawing on each other instead, but at least one of the patrols was bound to notice her and her ten-foot-tall knight.

"Ugh, can't you get smaller in size?" she said to him. Right before her eyes, he shrank to normal human height, about a foot taller than her. "Oh, that's cool!"

He pushed her out of the way before clashing swords with what appeared to be another knight, this one dark and grotesque, its jagged armor broken in multiple locations, displaying its rotting insides. Lilly's knight was superior, however, and it made short work of the attacker while Lilly put down a pack of rabid monsters.

"We're not that far off," she huffed and puffed. "I am seriously looking forward to that dinner."

The knight scratched its head as it followed after her. The final stretch came upon them and it didn't take long before they crossed the threshold into the field encampment. The moment they were within the base proper, the monsters outside ignored them and focused exclusively on each other, fully reenacting the chaos of war.

"I guess that's convenient," Lilly said. "Still, that kinda makes me worried about what we're gonna see in here."

 

* * * * *

 

"Damn, we've lost the feed again," Dr. Cherenkov said. "Let's try adjusting the x-wave along with the z-wave again. Did that work?"

The technician shook his head.

"Okay, try modulating the y-wave this time."

"Dad, did you see that?" Perseus said, his mouth still open from what they had just witnessed.

"Yes," Kronos said, equally shocked. "We all knew that the Labyrinth would contain things that were out of this world, but those things were literally out of this world."

"Physiologically and physically impossible."

"Not so much impossible as it is nonsensical."

"Seriously, though."

"I suppose your friend was right. This is much more than we can handle. Even an army wouldn't last a day in there."

"From what she's told us," Dr. Cherenkov began, "and from what the evidence suggests, I believe sending _anyone_ in without adequate protection would be more detrimental than anything. The Labyrinth appears to actively eat away at any soul that has been drawn into it. Each individual Labyrinth seems to be the final stage before one is lost in there forever."

"What are the preceding stages?" Kronos asked.

"We still have yet to ascertain that. Ah, excellent, the feed is back."

 

* * * * *

 

"An angel."

"No, I'm not an angel," Lilly sighed. "Everybody keeps calling me that."

"It's because you've gotta be," another soldier said. "Who else could trample on cursed ground like this and get us out of here?"

"I'm just another soldier, like you guys. I just have a different mission, that's all."

"A soldier of heaven, then."

She chuckled. "C'mon. Let's go get the rest of your friends."

Lilly and her knight went from tent to tent, waking up one soldier after another, each one of them bound to this world by their collective nightmare. With each one awakened, the world around them shifted, the nightmare slowly crumbling and giving way to the third layer of the general Labyrinth, the darkened world incongruent to the real world.

"What is this place?" one of the men asked.

"It's a nightmare, that's what it is," another soldier answered him.

"Where are you all from?"

"Atlas Army, 23rd Airborne Division. Corporal Stilwell. You?"

"Gunnery Sergeant Ames, Vale Army 19th Airborne."

"19th Airborne? You guys are supposed to be the best, aren't you?"

"That's what they say about us. I still think that guy's division is the toughest."

They both turned to a soldier from Mistral.

"Where you from, brother?"

"Captain Yusuke Aizawa," he said. "Mistral 1st Infantry."

His answer got the attention of other soldiers around. The Mistral Army's 1st Infantry Division was known worldwide as one of the, if not _the_ best among infantry fighting divisions. They were sent to the front line for every engagement, whether it was a land, air, or sea battle. Their attrition rate was high due to the death toll that the vanguard regularly took, but those who survived their first battles typically went on to finish the rest of their tours without incident. Those who fight for Mistral's 1 st Infantry Division, however, had a reputation for their addiction to battle.

"So, this guy's the badass out of everyone here."

"Psh, fuck that. The only badass here is that little girl and her fucking knight."

They all turned to Lilly, who continued gathering soldiers together. The base had begun to suffer incursions of Corrupted and monsters alike, but she and her companion had more than enough firepower between them to keep things from getting out of hand.

"Can any of you guys fight?" Lilly said to the group of about a dozen gathered together.

"Ma'am, you're lookin' at a jarhead," the toughest in the group said. "You damn well better believe I'm ready for a fight."

"What do you need from us?" another soldier said.

Lilly looked down at the ground, trying to come up with something. There was one spell she had been itching to try out, but she had no idea if it would even work.

"It's worth a shot," she said before sighing and closing her eyes, envisioning the correct rune, which manifested itself in the air between her and the soldiers, earning their awe. " _Wirst du deine schwerter im Kampf um meinetwillen erheben_?"

Though the language was not theirs, each one understood the question perfectly and they all, with one voice, answered, "We do so solemnly swear to fight by your side."

She smiled, knowing full well that the spell worked. "Okay, each one of you take up arms and watch my back while I save the rest of them!"

"Hooah!" was the unified battle cry as each of the men found themselves with swords and shields in hand.

Despite there being only twelve of them under her spell's power, the immense boost gave them the ability to hold off the growing horde that invaded this base. She still had a lot more souls to save and she wasn't giving up on a single one. Just outside of the tent she was now in, her knight continued to defend her as she worked on severing the red, vein-like tendrils that connected her charge to the Labyrinth.

"I've got you," she said to the young, emaciated man. "You're safe now."

"M...Mother?"

She chuckled. "No, I'm not your mom, but I promise you'll see her soon."

"Th...Thank you."

Lilly shouldered the young man out to the rest of the group, which welcomed their fellow warrior. They gave their savior a salute as she continued going from tent to tent, liberating one after another. Soon, she had every soldier she could find out in the field. All thirty of them gathered together as the Labyrinth around them began to crumble.

"What's happening now?" one of the men said.

"This world is about to disappear," Lilly said. "Concentrate on where you truly belong, with your families and friends, out there in the real world."

"The real world?"

"Yes. This is a world of nightmares, binding you to a place that desires to trap you forever. But you are now free, free to return to your true homes."

"I see," one of the soldiers said as he looked at his hand, which began to fade. "Yeah, I remember now. My kid has a soccer game today."

"Then, go to him," Lilly said.

"What about you?" another soldier said.

"Don't worry. I'm in good hands. And besides, I have more work to do in this place."

"Heh, you really are an angel."

She shook her head with a smile as the congregation before her faded away, returning to their real bodies in the real world. As if on cue, the world around her began to crumble, but because she wasn't in a giant building this time, the danger to her was greatly diminished. She looked around as the black sky broke away like glass shards, giving way to a sunlit sky. The battlefield also began to evaporate, slowly returning to the empty first layer of the Labyrinth.

"Lilly, are you reading me?" a voice sounded in her headset.

"Yeah, I can hear you, Perseus," she replied.

"Finally. I think the deepest Labyrinth layers mess with our signals a lot. You musta gone back up a level."

"All the levels, I think. I was just in a personal Labyrinth, but I'm in the top layer right now."

"Where are you exactly?"

"In the city. There's a hotdog stand nearby. Oh, I can see Shade Academy not too far from here. I'll cross over at the usual spot."

"Okay, see you soon."

 

* * * * *

 

Ignoring the precautions as usual, Perseus headed into the inner sanctum, where Lilly emerged into real space. Once she had fully manifested, the six Rift Engines were reconfigured to repair the space-time tear before shutting down.

"Man, you're awesome," Perseus said.

"No, I'm hungry," Lilly sighed, exhaustion written all over her face.

He chuckled. "C'mon. There's still that dinner I promised you."

"Before that, I need to take a cold shower."

The project was ended for the day. It was clear from her physical state that Lilly was not going to be able to make another incursion and Dr. Cherenkov insisted that she get some rest and not to return until she was fully rejuvenated.

Lilly closed her eyes as she allowed the cold water to wash away all the dirt and grime she had built up in the Labyrinth. She was actually starting to be surprised by how quickly she was able to run through each sortie. When she started out, she would sometimes take an entire week to fully conquer a Labyrinth, and that was with single targets. She was now taking on collectives, which tended to throw more monsters at her, and yet she was more than capable of liberating all of the prisoners.

And yet, that sense of accomplishment could not stop that single tear from falling and mixing itself with the water. She had done a marvelous job of keeping it in during each mission, but there had to be a release at some point. She couldn't keep it bottled up for too long, not when it was fueled by the myriad of horrible things she got to know intimately with each foray into the Labyrinth.

It wasn't the monsters or the danger she always found herself in. That was no big deal to a seasoned warrior such as herself. Rather, it was the suffering each prisoner of the Labyrinth went through. More than once, she was able to see into the hearts of those trapped in their own minds. Each custom Labyrinth was filled to the brim with subtle hints of the true horrors suffered by those individuals. Part of her wished that she couldn't piece the puzzles together. After all, they often revealed such horrible stories.

Those who had lost loved ones and blamed themselves, those who had been trampled by society, those whose fortitude was broken by whatever it was that victimized them. For these past months, Lilly had gotten a front-row seat. It only became more and more heartbreaking with each one.

Perhaps the worst she had to deal with was the Labyrinth from only four days ago, a young girl whose father abused her and her little brother in ways that no father should ever do to his children. Lilly couldn't imagine how a parent could do that to his child, especially when her only remaining parent was such an amazing mother. It would do no justice to say that Lilly absolutely idolized Weiss.

She turned off the faucet, staring at the drain as the water circled down, hypnotizing her. It had been two weeks since her arrival in this city. She already had five Labyrinth victories under her belt in that time, a record even for her. She had Dr. Cherenkov and his staff to thank for their support. Being able to hear their voices, even if only in the upper layers, was more than enough to keep her sanity.

But most of all, it was Perseus's support that truly kept her afloat. With every incursion, his face would be the last she saw in this world and the first to greet her upon her return. And it was always his voice on the line, the light that guided her through the darkness.

Tonight, they would have dinner together. She hadn't been lying about her hunger earlier; she was utterly famished. Those rations she packed with every foray did very little when she was fighting against hordes of those monsters. No, tonight's dinner was meant to seal the pact she shared with him. He was the closest thing she had to an ally when it came to what she did. The technical support the staff provided her could not hold a candle to the immense emotional support he brought to the table.

She looked at herself in the mirror, smiling with approval of her own outfit, a simple, pale blue v-neck t-shirt over a pair of jeans and flats. The last thing to go on would be the pale blue bow that would hold her high ponytail together as two locks bordered her face.

"Perfect," she said to her reflection before heading out.

 

* * * * *

 

_"You can't get away from us."_

_"We're always going to find you."_

_"Even if you leave the planet, we'll follow you."_

He continued to run in spite of the taunts. This environment was unlike anything he had ever encountered, ever-oppressive and threatening to swallow him whole. Still, he would not submit so easily. He had a promise to keep and he wasn't going to give up before he could fulfill it.

He leaped over a small barrier, but lost his footing as he went over. He tumbled several times, eventually regaining his bearing and dashing into a dilapidated house. In retrospect, this probably provided him with severely limited shelter, but it was better than being out in the open. He had lost his flashlight earlier, but perhaps it was better since he did not want to alert any of those things to his presence. Besides that, it seemed light did not behave properly in this place anyway, never shining any farther than fifty feet or so. And in spite of that odd property, he could still faintly see his surroundings, though there were no sources of light he could discern.

He closed his eyes, attempting to control his breathing as the monsters passed by outside. None entered the building he used as shelter, but the fact that they were so close was rightly unnerving. All he could do now was hold out hope that someone was coming to get him out of this hellish place.


	30. The Crucible

CHAPTER XXX

_The Crucible_

 

Lilly stood in front of her bedroom window, staring out at the rising sun. The city of Vacuo bathed itself in the morning light cast on the world by the golden sands surrounding the oasis in the desert. Today was going to be yet another day in Lilly's long and arduous schedule. She was here for one thing only: to venture into the Labyrinth and save the lost. With the backing of Shade Academy's scientific staff led by Dr. Cherenkov, and especially with the emotional support of her friend, Perseus, the youngest son of the Jupiter Family, she had managed to save more souls in these few weeks than all the time she had spent before.

But she had to admit to herself that her duty was beginning to take its toll on her. Her companion must have noticed how little she smiled nowadays. At least, it was much less than everyone had gotten used to. No, she had to bring it back. It was imperative that despite everything she was going through, she would always have a smile for the world around her. After all, if she was not going to be the light in this darkness, who would be?

She stopped in front of her mirror to check on herself when she fell to the ground in a near-panic. For an instant, her reflection was that warped version again, the darkened version of herself, filled with hate and bitterness for the world around her, the enmity fully manifested in her reflection's fierce scowl, bringing Lilly back to that day in the Labyrinth when she was overcome with all of those emotions at once. She swore on that day never to allow such unbridled hatred to ever fill her heart, a vow she renewed right this moment.

When she stood up to face herself in the mirror once more, her reflection was back to normal and she sighed in relief, brushing her hair and straightening her outfit. She had been venturing off into the Labyrinth dressed in durable, yet flexible clothing. At least, that's what she always told herself. A t-shirt wasn't exactly the most durable and jeans weren't exactly the most flexible. Still, it was what she was comfortable in. Despite what her mom once called a "combat skirt," Lilly wasn't too keen on the idea of wearing a dress in the middle of battle.

_Then again, a little style wouldn't be so bad every now and then._

She headed out of the Jupiter manor, making her way through the streets toward Shade Academy. The sun had yet to rise to its apex and it wasn't quite scorching out just yet, but it was hot enough to make her sweat the instant she was out of the air conditioned building. She ignored the comments made by people on the streets, accusations of the Schnee girl being too pampered for Vacuo life.

If she were to be honest, though, what they said was not too far from the truth. After all, her mother had done everything she could to shield her from the horrors this world had to offer. Not too long ago, at the start of her tenure at Beacon Academy, she had no conception of the most basic forms of combat, relying solely on instinct and luck to survive the tests her instructors threw in her direction.

She drew Myrtenaster, admiring the exquisite hilt of the weapon. Perhaps it wasn't so much luck as it was something else. She had to admit that holding her mother's old weapon in her hand like this felt completely natural. Furthermore, that knight she always summoned into combat with her was strangely soothing, as though fighting alongside with him was always meant to be. She couldn't even recall the last time she went into battle without him by her side.

"Oh, hey, it's the snow angel!"

Lilly turned to face Dionysus. "Everyone keeps calling me an angel!"

"We're only telling the truth!" he said, throwing an arm around her. "You headed to campus?"

"Mm-hmm. You?"

"Yup. Got a dance class today. Also, I just got promoted, so I get to teach the new kids."

"Oh, cool!"

"You still doing that crazy science experiment in the basement?"

"Yeah. Just trying to save the world one science experiment at a time. You know how it is."

"Heh, it's no wonder my brother's always hanging out with you. Birds of a feather and all. He's always had dreams of being a hero and stuff."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Why do you think he joined Beacon Academy instead of Shade?"

"He said it's cuz of the heat."

"Well, that's part of the reason. I mean, that's kinda why everyone's under the...shade all the time."

She gave him a high-five.

"I appreciate someone who can appreciate a joke."

"I have friends back at Beacon who always do that."

"So your friends are very punny, huh?"

She chuckled. "Yup."

Upon arriving at the campus gates, they parted ways. Dionysus had invited her to watch his dance class at least for a few minutes, but her schedule today was quite dense and there would be no time for deviation. With a sad face, Dionysus went ahead of her.

Lilly took a deep breath, listening to the rustling of leaves as a strong breeze blew through the area. It was warm in Vacuo, especially in the middle of the summer, but every now and then a refreshing wind would descend, bringing some relief to the harsh landscape. But no matter how harsh Vacuo could be, there was no comparing to that hellish world Lilly was about to venture into. Slowly, that infernal place was becoming her second home.

"Hello, Lilly Schnee," an unfamiliar bespectacled face greeted her as the elevator doors opened.

"Oh, hello," Lilly said.

"We haven't met yet," the girl said as she pushed up her round, wire-framed glasses. "My name is Ariadne. I'm working as an assistant for Dr. Cherenkov and I'll be your attendant from now until the end of your work with us."

"Pleased to meet you, Ariadne."

"This way."

There was something oddly familiar about this girl, but Lilly pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"Today's exercises will take place solely in the real world," Ariadne said. "Dr. Cherenkov wants to know if there's any way to replicate your runic magic. Of course, given the nature of magic as a whole, I am not sure what he can even accomplish, but at the very least, if we can open gateways between this world and the Labyrinth at will, our work toward conquering that world will advance greatly."

"Conquering?" Lilly said.

"Yes. Given everything you've accomplished thus far, it is clear that the Labyrinth is, if not the cause of the world's troubles, at the very least facilitating those troubles. Of course, we would also have to figure out how to extend your rune magic to any soldiers we might send through the rift in order to protect them from the soul-eroding properties of the Labyrinth. Your magic also seems to anchor your existence every time you enter the Labyrinth."

"Anchor my existence?"

"Yes. The Labyrinth is a powerful phenomenon, one that seeks to assimilate every soul that enters it. Your magic allows your own existence to assert itself as a separate entity from the Labyrinth, thus preventing you from being dissipated."

"Like everyone else."

"Yes. It is our conjecture that those who become lost within the Labyrinth have succumbed to its influences, though that is likely nothing more than an end result of surrendering to one's own inner demons."

"But the people I've encountered that have become lost haven't dissipated or anything. They're still distinct people."

"You've never encountered any actual lost souls. Every personal Labyrinth you've gone through has always ended in complete success and you were able to reunite the person's inner self with their real-world counterpart."

She was right. Lilly had never failed a Labyrinth. Not even once.

"Nevertheless," Ariadne continued, pushing up her glasses, "we must continue. It is my sincerest hope that we don't ever have to bear witness to something as tragic as a soul permanently lost in the Labyrinth."

"Ah, you're here," Dr. Cherenkov said. "And punctual as always."

"I try my best," Lilly said with a shrug.

"And I see you've already met Ariadne. I thought I'd have someone your age as your permanent attendant. I trust you two are getting along?"

"Yup!"

"Excellent. Let us begin today's work."

 

* * * * *

 

Perseus slowly opened his eyes, shooting straight up in bed as he realized how late he was.

"Dammit!" he said, grabbing his scroll. It was eleven o'clock already. "Ah, for shit's sake!"

There was a knock on his door. "Young master, is everything all right?"

Perseus pulled his door open. "Gio, why didn't you wake me up?"

"It's Saturday. You hate when you're awoken on Saturdays."

"Did Lilly head to campus already?"

"She left the house hours ago, sir."

"Son of a—okay, don't worry about lunch, I'm in a hurry—"

Giovanni interrupted him with a packed lunch. "I had a feeling this would happen and I put together something for the both of you."

"If you had that figured out, why didn't you just wake me up?"

"Do you remember the last time I did that?"

He didn't answer.

"You threw your shield at me."

"Yeah, yeah. Have my bike ready, willya?"

Perseus took the quickest shower of his life before haphazardly throwing on some clothes, a pair of black shorts and a black t-shirt, before heading out to the garage, where Giovanni was already awaiting him.

"I packed away your lunches in the side saddle," the butler said, pressing a button to open up the garage.

"Thanks, Gio," Perseus said, mounting his motorcycle. "Ah, she's nice and warmed up."

"The gate should already be open for you. Ride safe, young master."

"You're the man, Gio!"

Perseus revved twice before speeding out of the garage out into the driveway and all the way to the streets of Vacuo. He was on campus in no time; no amount of traffic short of a literal pileup could stop a motorcycle. After parking next to the front entrance of the Academy's main building, he headed in, welcoming the cool breeze put out by the air conditioning system. He kept mostly to himself as he headed to the elevator.

He checked his scroll during the long ride to the subterranean Rift Complex. He had a few unread text messages, but none of them were specifically directed at him. His mom had included every member of their family in her group messages as always.

The instant the elevator doors opened, he stepped out into the halls, heading directly for the compound without stopping for anything. When he arrived at the Alpha Sector, the core of the facility where Lilly made her incursions, he was puzzled to discover that it was sparsely populated, with only a maintenance crew on duty today. Lilly was nowhere to be seen.

"Excuse me," he said to a technician. "Is Dr. Cherenkov down here today?"

"Yes, he's in the labs. If you head back the way you came and follow the signs for the Sector Theta Testing Grounds, you'll find him."

"Thanks."

He did as the technician said, walking through sterile halls until he arrived at the testing center. A scream sent him running directly into one of the observation rooms. Lilly was in the middle, floating as her body convulsed and she shrieked in pain.

"What the hell is going on here?" Perseus yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Wait, you must not interfere," Dr. Cherenkov said, holding the young man back.

"You guys are killing her!"

"Perseus, you need to step back," Ariadne said to him.

"What the? What are _you_ doing here?"

"You need to step back. If you touch her, she might die. Or worse."

He glared at her, but her eyes were unyielding. That statement was no lie. "Fine. But I'm getting her the hell out of here once this shit's done."

Meanwhile, Lilly struggled as the forces threatened to tear her flesh apart. She had never endured such immense pain before, but if it was going to help in the effort against the Labyrinth, she was willing to go through with it.

"Mom..." she mumbled before losing consciousness and falling to the ground.

"Lilly!" Perseus yelled, running to her, but hesitating upon remembering Ariadne's words.

"You might want to keep your distance," Ariadne said. "Oh, too late."

Perseus looked around. Beneath his feet, centered around Lilly, was a rune circle about four meters in diameter. It began to shine with a deep indigo glow before his senses were overwhelmed by an intense, bright light accompanied by the loudest whine he had ever heard. He put his hands to his ears, but no amount of pressing could drown out the sound. Even closing his eyes had no effect on the brilliance.

Both gradually faded away, revealing a world bathed in perpetual fog, even though they were in the middle of the underground lab complex. Perseus instantly recognized the sight from all of the videos he had watched. There was no doubt. This was the second layer of the Labyrinth.

Lilly groaned, sitting upright and turning to Perseus. "What the heck happened?" she said.

"I don't know," he said. "You were yelling in pain and then you collapsed. When I went over to you, a big rune was on the ground and now I think we're in the Labyrinth."

"How is that possible? We weren't anywhere near a rift, natural or artificial."

"I'm willing to bet it has something to do with that rune that appeared."

"I don't even remember it. The last thing I recall was seeing my mom's face—look out!"

She pushed Perseus to the side, taking the hit with her own body instead. She screamed as a spear made of bone pierced her shoulder. She grasped the weapon, grimacing before ripping it out with a pained groan.

"Lilly!" Perseus said, but he watched in awe as a pale blue rune appeared over her wound, glowing as the hole in her shoulder closed up. "Holy shit."

"Be careful," Lilly said. "There's something in here with us."

"Clearly," he said, readying his sword and shield. "That way!"

As Perseus deflected another spear throw, Lilly aimed Myrtenaster in the general direction from which the weapon flew and she projected a Fire Rune.

" _Hitzewelle_!"

A blast of scorching air ignited everything in front of her, including her attacker, which had been reduced to a pile of charcoal when she was finished.

"I will say it again," Perseus began, "holy shit."

"This is different from the others," she said, examining the corpse. "It's not one of the Corrupted."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. This is the first time I've ever encountered anything like this in the Labyrinth. Most of the things roaming this world are either the Corrupted or, occasionally, really freaky looking monsters. This almost looks like a warrior of some kind."

Perseus crouched beside the corpse, poking it with his sword. "It's wearing some kind of armor. Not that it helped against your heat wave attack thingy."

"Okay, do you remember what that rune looked like?"

"Which rune?"

"The one that spawned after I passed out."

"I mean, it was big and really intricate and had letters that I don't even understand."

"Great. If I don't know what it looks like, I can't project it consciously. And if that's really what threw us into this world, it's the only thing I can think of that'll get us back."

"What about the artificial rifts?"

"It's likely that they've already gotten started on creating a new rift for us, so yeah, let's make our way there."

The path to their destination was swarming with monsters of all types, including thick amounts of Corrupted.

"This makes no sense," Lilly whispered as they hid. "The second layer never has this many monsters, and never this close together. At most, you'll see maybe a cluster of three, but never dozens like this."

"Do you have the strength to take them on?" Perseus asked.

She surveyed the enemy for a moment. "No, not right now. Whatever it was that happened to me earlier, it zapped a lot of my strength. I'd probably get through half of them before I pass out."

"What are they all doing here? Guarding the rift maybe?"

"It's possible. Every tear in space-time causes a ripple throughout the Labyrinth, so I wouldn't be surprised if our constant generation of artificial rifts attracted them all here. But something doesn't add up. I've never run into monsters here in the lab. It didn't matter which layer I was in. This place was always empty."

"What changed?"

"I don't know. C'mon, we have to find another rift."

"There are others?"

She nodded as she led the way out. "Remember all those missing persons cases?"

"All sucked into rifts?"

"Unfortunately, yes. They seem to form randomly and disappear just as unpredictably."

He was about to ask how she knew all this when he remembered her ability. "Oh, right, you can sense stuff like that. How does that feel anyway? Sensing rifts, I mean."

"Well, I can't really explain it, but I just feel like there's a door or window nearby. I can also sorta...see them, I guess."

"How does it look?"

"You know how the air looks when the ground is really hot?"

"Oh, like a desert mirage?"

"Kinda like that. Except with colors. Dark colors. Mostly dark purples and black shadowy wisps seeping out of some hole in midair."

"Huh. That actually sounds kinda creepy."

"It almost always is. Well, from the real world, anyway. The rifts while you're on this side are more comforting than anything with warm colors like white and gold."

"Right, cuz they're leading back into the real world."

"Yeah."

They ascended the stairs to the ground level, a long climb that lasted several minutes. When they finally reached the upper floors, Lilly looked left and right. When she determined that the halls were clear of threats, she led the way out of the school. Shade Academy was covered in perpetual fog.

"Still in the second layer," she sighed. "Stay close. My magic should keep you protected."

"Protected from what?" Perseus asked.

"From getting sucked into the third layer and separated from me."

"R-Right."

Perseus followed closely as Lilly led the way through the empty, foggy streets of Vacuo. He could never have imagined his hometown so abandoned and so cold. Not only was the sunlight taken away by this version of his world, its warmth was gone as well. To his left and right were stall after stall, all of them as empty as the streets and buildings. Not a soul was in sight.

"Is it always this creepy?" he mumbled.

"Mostly," Lilly said. "Just make sure to stay away from the Corrupted as much as you can."

"Corrupted?"

"Yeah, like that."

He hid behind the same wall Lilly had used as concealment to spy on a twisted, humanoid figure in the distance, just barely visible through the fog. It writhed and groaned, as if perpetually tormented. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the thing he was looking at had some horrible manner of contraption driven into its arms and legs. It was no wonder it was so tortured, with actual infernal devices attached to it.

"We can get around it if it doesn't bother us," Lilly said. "Attacking one usually attracts more and conserving strength in this world is pretty much necessary since you never know if you'll get drawn into the third layer."

"The dark layer," he said.

"Yeah. And that layer is _filled_ with monsters."

"Don't worry. I don't have any plans to stray away from you."

They circumvented the Corrupted barring their path, continuing down the road. Just ahead, Lilly could sense the presence of a rift. It was probably another mile away or so, but so long as they encountered no threats and as long as they remained in the upper Labyrinth layers, they would be fine.

"Hey, Lilly," Perseus began.

"Hmm?" she said, continuing to scan her environment.

"Have you considered, I dunno, maybe taking a break from all this?"

"That isn't an option, not so long as there are people who need saving."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that. It's just that...don't forget about yourself. I've noticed you changing a lot over the past two weeks. Part of me kinda regrets bringing you here because of what you've been through."

"Don't. I've been able to save more people in the last fourteen days than since I started going into the Labyrinth months ago. And besides. You're one of the people keeping me going."

He felt his face warm up.

"I won't deny that the help Dr. Cherenkov and his staff provide me has been invaluable, but there's something else that's always kept me going in the Labyrinth even before all this. The fact that I have friends like you, Athena, Echo, Xanthus, Leon, Ingrid, and Yuan to come home to. And Penny, too, of course. With all of our friends left behind back at Beacon, you're...you're all I've got now. So...please, don't lose faith in me just yet."

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come off that way. I'm not losing faith in you at all. I just...I don't like seeing you get hurt. How many times has it been now that you've emerged from the Labyrinth with so many injuries? Hell, that first day you went in, when you came back out screaming, I...I dunno. It was...put simply, it was terrifying."

"I'm sorry, Perseus. I didn't mean to worry you or anything."

"No, it's not your fault. I mean, there's nothing you need to apologize for. You're literally putting your life on the line for strangers. That's something we should all aspire to."

"Thank you, Perseus. Really."

They were nearing the rift when they came across someone slumped against a building, covered in blood, probably his own. Lilly rushed to the young man, but he was severely injured, freshly clotted blood covering a number of wounds all over his face, neck, and arms.

"He's still alive!" she said before backing away a bit to make room for her magic.

Perseus watched as she held out a hand, conjuring up one of her runes, which appeared in the space between her and the injured man. The rune circle glowed with pale blue light, bathing the young man in a rain-like sprinkle of magic. With each droplet, his wounds closed up until finally his face was clearly recognizable.

"Wait a minute," Perseus mumbled. "I know that guy."

Lilly, too, recognized him, but it took some time for it to actually sink in.

"Holy shit, that's Demetri. That's Demetri Holland, one of our classmates!"

As soon as Lilly finished healing him, they both crouched at either side of him.

"Demetri," Perseus said, trying to shake him awake. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Demetri slowly opened his eyes, glancing around before finally settling on the one who saved his life.

"I...Ivory?" he mumbled.

"Huh?" Lilly said. "No, it's Lilly. Lilly Schnee."

He stared at her for a moment, blinking a few times. "I apologize. I didn't mean to mistake you for your cousin."

She smiled. "It's okay. I mean, we kinda do have the same hair color. I don't have her pretty blue eyes, though."

"On the contrary, I think hazel fits you just fine." He turned to Perseus. "Where am I?"

"Vacuo, dude," he said. "You're a long way away from home."

"Where is...my team?"

"Team?" Lilly said.

"Yes. I'm here...on a mission...with the rest of my team..."

"Hang on, man," Perseus said, holding him back as he tried to stand up. "Lilly just healed your wounds. You were in pretty bad shape. Catch your breath at least."

Demetri did as he was told, allowing his body to recover a bit as Lilly stood guard. Fortunately for the trio, this layer of the Labyrinth was sparsely populated by monsters and not a single one passed by.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Perseus asked him.

"I was with my team," Demetri began, "on a mission from Dr. Pine himself. We were supposed to investigate some suspicious activity to the southwest of Vale, close to the border with Vacuo, something related to the incident that happened not too long ago in the Forever Fall forest, when your friends were hurt. We were in a small town, in the middle of the day when..."

"Everything suddenly went dark?"

Demetri nodded. "The whole world changed around us. The streets cracked as paint peeled and metal rusted right before our eyes. And then... _they_ came."

"The monsters."

He nodded. "We were trained to fight Grimm, but those things...the screaming and the crying, and the hysterical laughter, I couldn't...it was just..."

"It's okay. Take your time."

"I don't know what happened. Theo was the first to get separated from us, and then Raiden. It was only me and Paolo for a while before I found myself completely alone in that dark world. I kept running. It was the only thing I could do."

"There's no shame in that."

"But I abandoned my team."

"Hey, you said it yourself. You guys were separated. It's not like you can do anything about third layer Labyrinth shifting."

He gave Perseus a puzzled look.

"I'll explain everything once we're back in the real world. Can you stand up?"

Demetri managed to get back up to his feet with Perseus's assistance.

"Bad news," Lilly said. "The rift we were headed to is gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Perseus said.

"Rifts are unstable, remember?"

"So, it moved?"

"No, they don't actually 'move,' but I do feel another one not that far from here. It's due south."

"The projects, huh?"

Perseus continued to shoulder Demetri until they reached the city walls to the very south. They stood before a massive gate that looked tough enough to withstand a battering ram for days.

"It's on the other side of this wall," Lilly said.

"That's the outer town," Perseus said. "When the city proper got too crowded, people decided to build outside. That area's always super hot cuz first of all it's got no wall and second of all it's really far from the great lake, which helps with the climate somewhat."

"But, it's not even warm, let alone hot," Demetri said. "Thank you, my friend. I can stand on my own now."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"All right, then."

After Perseus let him go, he checked his gauntlets. They were out of Dust altogether, but he could still use the built-in grappling spear system, which he had recently modified to run off an electric motor rather than explosive Dust.

"Okay, let's go," Perseus said, pushing open the massive gate, which was unlocked. They were still in the foggy second layer of the Labyrinth. Visibility was nonexistent, but fortunately the monster population here was not as dense as the dark third layer.

"We're not too far now," Lilly said. "I can sense it. The rift is less than a mile that way."

"Good, cuz this place is giving me the creeps," Perseus said.

Demetri looked over to the side. A shadow had caught his attention, but it moved further into the fog. It may very well have been just his imagination.

"Yo, don't lag behind," Perseus said. "Stay close to Lilly. Her magic keeps us from being dragged into the third layer of the Labyrinth."

"Third layer?"

"Yeah, the dark world you were talking about. Like I said, we'll fill you in on everything when we get back to the real world."

"Wait. I sense something."

"What is it?" Perseus said, raising his sword and shield.

"There."

They both looked at a shadow approaching them from the fog, its movements disturbingly twitchy, its raspy breathing making both their hairs stand on end.

"A Corrupted," Perseus whispered.

Demetri looked at him.

"I wonder if we can take it down."

He brought up his shield as the monster charged at him, screeching. He pushed back at the Corrupted, knocking it on its back before he drove his sword into its chest. It wailed for a moment, not in pain, but sadness, the kind of sadness that tugged at Perseus's own heartstrings, before it finally lay still and silent.

"What the hell was that?" Perseus said, backing away from the rapidly rotting corpse.

"That's what I was talking about," Demetri said. "When they die, it's not...normal. Some of them even have voices that belong to babies."

"Yeah, fuck this noise. Let's catch up to Lilly."

Before they could move, a dozen more Corrupted came at them, some crying in sorrow, others moaning in pain. There were also those that laughed hysterically.

"There is so much _nope_ in all of this right now!" Perseus said, bringing up his shield. Demetri stood by him, ready to take on the monsters, but their extremely limited visibility in this world made battle much more difficult and borderline claustrophobic. Still, as students of Beacon Academy, they had what it took to hold their own against these foreign creatures.

Truth be told, there was something very un-foreign about these monsters that made the two young men's skin crawl. It was almost as if they were fighting people. Granted they were horrific exaggerations of real people, but the sensation was undeniable.

"Shit!" Perseus said as one of the Corrupted tackled him to the ground. His shield was the only thing keeping the monster from clawing through his chest.

"Perseus!" Demetri yelled as he ran to his aid, but he, too, was tackled to the ground by his own Corrupted. More were on their way.

Before the monsters could do any damage, Lilly arrived on the scene, wielding Myrtenaster with grace and skill worthy of any expert swordsman, supplementing her melee attacks with occasional magic attacks of every variety, chiefly ice and lightning strikes. Demetri couldn't help but stare with his mouth agape. This couldn't possibly be the girl who lost to Ivory at the tournament. That girl, only a month and a half ago, was borderline amateur compared to the one he was watching right now, a girl who was turning these Corrupted, which drove fear itself right into his heart, into mincemeat.

The scuffle attracted even more Corrupted to the area and the trio found themselves beset from all directions by several dozen terrifyingly twisted humanoid creatures.

"There's too many, dammit," Perseus said as he and Demetri prepared to fight against the horde.

Lilly drove Myrtenaster into the ground, kneeling as she projected her summoning rune before her. " _Ritter von Remnant, beantworte meinen anruf_! _Leih mir dein schwert_!"

Out of the summoning circle emerged a giant arm, which cleaved a whole group of Corrupted in half before the rest of the knight emerged. Unlike its usual stature, it took a form closer to that of a regularly sized man, the same as what Lilly had requested during the previous Labyrinth when they rescued those soldiers together. He stood maybe six feet in height, almost a full head above Lilly.

"Let's go!" Lilly said before she and her knight dove headlong into the crowd of Corrupted. His brute strength was the perfect complement to her finesse and technique and they effortlessly cut down one monster after another.

"Amazing," Demetri said, his jaw still halfway to the floor.

"Yeah," Perseus said. "I never get tired of seeing that, too."

"No, I mean, it's almost uncanny. She and Ivory fight in incredibly similar fashion. Ivory once told me that she modeled her fighting style largely after her Aunt Weiss, Lilly's mother. I thought Lilly never learned how to fight from her mother."

Perseus shrugged. "Maybe it's a genetic thing. Or a subconscious thing. Whatever."

"That's not possible. A combat style must be learned. It cannot be inherited."

"Bro, do you see what she's doing out there? She literally summoned a big ass knight out of a magic circle while she's throwing magic attacks around. For all we know, she _magically_ inherited her mom's fighting style."

"Perhaps. I don't believe she would be emulating Ivory, not with the bad blood between them."

"Look, when it comes to all this magic shit, I've stopped question things a long time ago. I just accept her as my new goddess. Hell, maybe I'll start a religion with Lilly Schnee as the central figure of our belief system."

"You can joke at a time like this?"

"I mean, look at her. She's kicking ass without breaking a sweat. We could probably sit down and have lunch while she slaughters everything without our help. Also, that wasn't a joke."

"Since when did she become so powerful?"

"Probably when she figured out her calling in life."

Demetri looked over at him.

"You have no idea how many people she's saved over the last couple months."

"Saved?"

"Like I said, I'll fill you in when we're outta here."

"All done!" Lilly said as she and her knight joined the two boys.

"Oh, hey, before we go," Perseus said, walking up to the knight. "Why don't you pull up your visor so we can see your face—holy shit!"

The knight had its sword at his throat before he could take another step closer.

"Something tells me he doesn't like that idea," Demetri said.

"Behave yourself!" Lilly said to her knight, throwing her fists on her hips.

The knight withdrew its sword, leaning against the hilt.

"H-Hey, man, s-sorry about that," Perseus said. "I swear I won't do it again!"

The knight gave him a heavy nod.

"So, this rift?" Demetri said.

"This way," Lilly said, leading her entourage to a small alleyway. She turned to her knight and curtseyed. It bowed to her before fading away. "Okay," she said, turning to her two remaining companions. "Stay close to me."

"How close?" Perseus said, pressing right up to her. "This close?"

She chuckled. "That's really close."

He chuckled, too, as he took a half step back. "Better?"

"Much better." She looked over at Demetri, who was still a few feet away. "No need to be shy."

He moved in, standing at arm's length from her. Lilly closed her eyes, concentrating on the real world, her home, the home of her friends, that world full of light and warmth and love. In a moment, they were surrounded by the hustle and bustle of city life.

"Son of a bitch," Perseus said, wiping sweat that instantly formed on his forehead. "All of a sudden I miss the Labyrinth."

"This...is Vacuo?" Demetri said.

"First time here?"

He nodded, stepping out of the alleyway to take in the rough city. It was much grittier than the excessively orderly Atlas. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the flow of human bodies and vehicles in this place. Rather, it was quite organic, shifting and changing as the need arose.

"Hey, you might not wanna be out in the open right now," Perseus said, slowly pulling him back into the alleyway.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because you're the son of the leader of the country that this country is sort of at odds with."

"Perseus is right," Lilly said. "We have to at least get you a disguise."

"Follow me. I know a few people around this part of town."


	31. In Defense of the Innocent

CHAPTER XXXI

_In Defense of the Innocent_

 

"Good morning, mom!" Lilly said as she greeted Weiss, who was cooking breakfast.

"You're awake early," Weiss said. "Do you have something planned for the weekend?"

"No, not in particular. Just couldn't get back to sleep after I woke up, so I stayed awake and played a game on my scroll."

"Oh, dear. You and your father are the same. Were you playing in the same session and everything?"

"Well...I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations at this time."

Weiss sighed. "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes."

"'Kay!"

Lilly went over to the piano to play a song, one of her favorites, "Bumblebee," by Lyon's Pride. The lighthearted tone was the perfect complement to the bright sunlight washing over the house through the windows. When she got to the chorus, she started singing her heart out, holding nothing back as she poured her soul into the lyrics. After a while, she overheard another voice harmonizing with her own and she glanced over at her mother, who was singing as she set up the table for breakfast.

When her song was finished, she got up to join Weiss, but the sound of keys jangling as the front door opened made her heart skip a beat. She faced the sunlight, which silhouetted a man standing tall and strong in the doorway. She ran straight to him, throwing herself over him.

"Dad!" she said, embracing him tightly. "How was work?"

"It was good," he said with a smile, patting her head. Weiss walked over to him and gave him a kiss before all three shared a tight embrace.

"You hungry?" Weiss asked him as she led the way to the table.

"Starving."

"I heard you two were playing videogames all morning."

He glanced over at Lilly, who turned away and began whistling. "You traitor."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said.

As they ate breakfast, Lilly's heart filled with warmth unlike ever before. If she could freeze this moment in time, she would. To see her mother and father so happy was the thing she wanted more than anything else in life. If anybody deserved to be happy, it was her parents. She would give everything, do anything, _suffer_ anything for their sake. After all, they had given her life, joy, and fulfillment. The least she could do was return the favor.

"Lilly, are you okay?" her mother said.

Lilly looked over at her. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just wish things could stay like this forever, that's all."

"It can," her father said.

She turned to him and smiled. "I think I can believe that."

"Believe it, kiddo. Not all stories have to have a bad ending."

"Not everybody can say that, though. It's why I have to keep doing what I'm doing."

"Are you two gonna go into another Labyrinth later?" her mother said.

"We are. Dad and I have been kicking butt and taking names!"

"It's mostly her," her father said. "I'm just there for moral support."

"Are you kidding? Mom, you should see him! He's super strong! He's even got a big sword and magical spears of light that he throws at the monsters and stuff!"

Her mother smiled. Lilly looked between her parents. Both were smiling, both undoubtedly proud of their little girl, who had taken after them and become a hero in her own right.

"I love you, mom, dad," Lilly said.

"We love you, too, darling," her parents said together.

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly opened her eyes as the dawn hit her face. She held up a hand to shield herself from the blinding light, sitting up in bed to reflect on the dream she had just had. She was at home again after a long while, living a peaceful life with both of her parents.

 _Dad,_ she thought, trying to remember his face. She could recall Weiss's face clearly, but her father's face was now blank to her, even though she could swear he was perfectly defined in the dream.

She got up out of bed and looked out the north-facing window. Her room was the furthest in the west wing of the manor, giving her a full view north, west, and south. The sun didn't shine directly into her room every morning, but there was plenty of glare from the surrounding structure that she had plenty of golden light come in every day as soon as the sun was high enough.

She stood in front of her mirror. Her snow-white hair went in numerous directions and she began brushing before quitting and hitting the shower instead. Once her morning routine was finished, she headed downstairs to join Perseus and Demetri, the latter of whom was now in disguise, his black hair dyed a medium dark blonde.

On her way down, her head began to hurt momentarily and her surroundings briefly transitioned to a state that resembled the third layer of the Labyrinth, but without the accompanying pitch-darkness. She looked around. Everything was normal.

 _What was that?_ she thought, continuing on.

"Miss Schnee?" Giovanni said from behind her.

"Oh, hi, Gio!" she said, waving to him.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, everything's good."

"It seemed you were having a headache just now."

"Probably the stress."

"Perhaps it is time you took a break from your duties, madam."

"I would, but as long as there are people who need saving, I can't take any breaks."

"Miss Lilly, I do not know what your regular duties are, but please understand that there will always be people who need saving. Such is the life of a Huntsman. However, if you neglect yourself, who, then, shall save those who cannot save themselves?"

It's not as though she didn't already know that. It was just that she was too stubborn to acknowledge it. Or maybe it was a bit of pride. She did get that from her mother, after all.

"Thanks, Gio," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"The young master and your guest are downstairs. Breakfast is ready for you."

"Cool!"

When Lilly arrived in the dining hall, Demetri immediately stood up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," she said to him.

"B-But, you saved my life," he said. "The least I could do is extend you the same courtesy I offer Ivory."

"Oh, right." She took a seat opposite him, to Perseus's left. "Hey, do you like my cousin?"

Demetri instantly reddened, his entire body becoming rigid as ice.

"I mean, _don't_ soften the blow," Perseus said with a snicker.

"Sorry," Lilly chuckled sheepishly. "But really, though, Demetri. You're the only person she treated the way she did during the Vytal Festival. I think you were the only person other than our family members who even called her by her given name. Everyone else called her 'captain' or 'Miss Schnee.' I mean, I'm not trying to pry or anything, I just wanna know where you and I stand. Aside from being classmates, of course."

"Well, I must admit that I do care for Ivory a lot," he said.

"See what I mean about the first name basis?"

He reddened again.

"Honestly, bro," Perseus began, slicing into his pancake, "I don't know what you see in her. She's kind of a bitch."

"Don't speak of her that way!" Demetri said, slamming his fists on the table. He quickly regained his demeanor. "I-I apologize, I did not mean to be so rude in the house of my steward."

"Don't sweat it, man. I wasn't trying to badmouth her anyway. I just, I mean, she does kinda come off as pretty friggin' mean. I'm pretty sure she was trying to kill Lilly during the tournament."

"No, I don't think she was," Lilly said, separating her eggs from the pancakes. "My cousin can be very determined. She also puts all her effort into everything, never making halfway attempts or anything like that. Although, I will say she's pretty proud, too. I guess me matching her in everything during our round kinda infuriated her. Honestly, up until lately, she's always been better than me in everything, school, combat, grace and poise, everything. I don't even have use of our family's Semblance whereas she mastered it before her tenth birthday. But then..."

She held out a hand, summoning a red-orange Fire Rune in the air above her palm. She activated the rune, calling on it to generate a harmless fireball.

"You did that without any Dust," Demetri said, mesmerized by the flame dancing in her palm. She changed the Fire Rune to a Water Rune and used its power to freeze the flame. The blue crystal fell into her palm and she handed it to him. What he held was not quite ice, since it wasn't water that had been frozen. It certainly was cold to the touch, but in moments, it melted away in his hand.

"You should see all the other shit she can do," Perseus said, scarfing down his eggs.

"And what about that knight who assisted us in the Labyrinth?" Demetri said.

Lilly looked over to the side, holding out her hand and projecting a summoning rune on the ground. " _Ritter von Remnant, Komm an meine seite._ "

The knight emerged from the rune, bowing its head as it waited on her.

"Incredible," Demetri said. "It's almost lifelike. The Schnee Semblance's ability to summon fallen enemies is more of a projection of sorts, but this is almost as if you are summoning something into this world that exists outside of it."

"I dunno," she said. "This was kinda the thing that popped into my head when Ivory summoned all those things during the tournament. I pictured the knight statue in the middle of the quad and he just popped out."

"I thought it was familiar. Does summoning him use up your strength?"

"Not as much as it used to. It also drains my energy keeping him around, but like I said, not as much as before. When I first started using my runes, I could barely do anything without sapping myself dry in an hour, but lately I've been able to complete entire Labyrinths in a day. I used to take a week to do the same thing."

"It's cuz you're leveling up," Perseus said.

"Huh?"

"He's making a videogame reference," Demetri said.

"Oh."

"Will you be going into the Labyrinth again today?"

"I have to. I'm the only one who can do what I do."

"How many do you intend to save?"

"As many as I need to."

Demetri watched as she ate breakfast, chatting with Perseus from time to time, mostly about Beacon and their friends. She and Ivory couldn't be any more different, but on a fundamental level, there were so many things about them that were similar. They both carried enormous weight on their shoulders. Ivory bore the entire legacy of the Schnee name while Lilly had unfathomably large shoes to fill. Her mother was the hero of the previous war, after all.

They both also had their stubborn streak. Ivory could never back down from a challenge, sometimes even against her better judgment. She also strove for excellence no matter what, even if the cost drained the life out of her, though she would never let anyone around her be aware of her fatigue. Lilly was the same, continually pushing forward at her own expense.

It was at this very moment that he swore, on his honor as a warrior and as the son of the leader of Atlas, that he would do everything in his power to keep Lilly safe.

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly stomached the pain in her shoulder. She had a job to do. There were too many people counting on her. But the enemy before her now was nigh-insurmountable, a sign that the owner of this Labyrinth was in deep trauma, the kind that was almost impossible to recover from. But Lilly was determined. She had never failed to save anyone. She wasn't about to start today.

"You won't take me down so easily!" she yelled, beginning her counterattack against the black knight. She had a good streak going when it broke through her defenses, grasping her by the throat. She struggled to break away, only managing to project a Fire Rune behind its back to knock herself free.

She coughed as she fell to all fours, glancing up at her opponent just in time to see a swing coming. She lifted up Myrtenaster to block the attack, but the knight's swing was too powerful and she nearly crumpled under its force.

 _Not like this!_ "Holy Rune! _Entfessle dein blendendes Licht_!"

A flash of light originated from the Holy Rune she had summoned, disorienting her opponent long enough for her to back away and regroup, but the knight was persistent and it immediately resumed its attack on her. She gasped, unable to mount a suitable defense, when her own knight managed to get between her and the twisted embodiment of chivalry.

"Thank you," she mumbled, to which her knight responded with a nod before entering into a blitz against the black, grotesque knight. Lilly took the opportunity to head deeper into the Labyrinth, trusting in her knight's ability to hold his own.

The halls contorted and twisted in non-Euclidean geometries, snaking in directions that oftentimes made no sense, reflecting the profound trauma of whoever sat in the center of this hell. Eventually, by sheer luck alone, she found herself in a giant dungeon, presumably the core of this macabre castle. There were a number of zombie-like monsters along the way, but they were slow and lumbering and she stabbed and slashed through the hordes, thankful for the reprieve. It wasn't much of a rest, though. They may have been sluggish and weak, but there were enough of them to put a dent in her energy reserves.

She panted as she stood in the doorway to the inner sanctum of this Labyrinth, allowing her body and mind to recover at least a little bit. The deepest section of any Labyrinth meant the toughest battles yet, the physical manifestation of the victim's torment. In this case, the young Faunus girl's tormentors were the unrelenting bullies at school. Even in Vacuo, the most accepting of the four human kingdoms, the Faunus still faced the prospect of ostracism.

Lilly spotted her target sitting in the middle of the castle's indoor courtyard, which partly resembled a classroom, complete with desks and an enormous blackboard at the very back. The girl was tiny in comparison to this grand hall, and especially when compared to the six boys and girls surrounding her.

 _All I have to do is sever the veins that..._ Lilly looked closely. This girl did not have those same tendrils coming out of her body to anchor her to the Labyrinth. "What's going on here?" she mumbled.

The six super-sized bullies finally took notice of her. Each one of them was horrid in appearance, one taking the shape of a giant ogre, another as a hideous vampire, and the rest as varying forms of Grimm. Most noticeably, each one walked on two legs.

Lilly concentrated on her knight, summoning it to her side, but it was not responding. Her magical reserves may have reached their limit, but so was this girl. With each passing minute, the Labyrinth contorted further and further, becoming more and more organic and abstract.

 _I'm almost out of time,_ Lilly thought. _If I fail here, this girl won't have any chance at recovery._

"I've never lost," Lilly mumbled. "I haven't lost yet! I am _not_ going to let you down!"

She rushed forward, attacking head-on despite the massive size advantage her enemies had on her.

 

* * * * *

 

"What is she doing?" Perseus said as he and Demetri watched the monitors.

"She's getting desperate," Demetri said. "I've seen this before. Ivory will continue to push onward even when faced with insurmountable odds. It seems it runs in the family."

"Lilly Schnee, do you copy?" Ariadne said into her headset. "Lilly, do you copy? You must withdraw immediately. Your strength is running too low and you need to recover before resuming your infiltration of that Labyrinth."

There was no response from the other end.

"Lilly? Please respond."

"She's either ignoring us," Perseus said, "or the Labyrinth is interfering with comms again."

The screen slowly shifted to static before fading back in.

"It's no good," Dr. Cherenkov said. "I don't think she's picking up anything from our end."

 _Dammit, Lilly,_ Perseus thought. _Stop being so reckless._

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly yelped as she was hurled into a wall with enough force to shatter her aura. She coughed up blood, grimacing as her whole body throbbed with pain. But she was not going to give up, not now, not ever. Even if it killed her, she was going to be victorious over this Labyrinth, this maze of pain and suffering. She was determined to free that girl, no matter the cost.

One of the smaller manifestations, a girl in the form of a vampire, grasped her by the throat, holding her in the air. She wheezed, struggling for breath as her life force quickly began to fade away. Before her opponent could deliver the finishing blow, her only true ally finally arrived to save her and she fell to the ground coughing.

She looked up to see her knight engaging all six of her enemies at once, including the building-sized Greater Ogre, which still, disturbingly, had the face of the girl's tormentor. His size and stature gave Lilly the impression that perhaps he was the ringleader of the bullies. She tried to stand up, but pain took her feet out from under her and she fell back to the ground, leaning against the wall.

_I can't believe this. Do I have to do all the work around here?_

"What?" Lilly mumbled, but the voice in her head didn't respond. She slowly made her way to a squat, leaning against Myrtenaster for support.

Her knight continued to fight valiantly, but even he could barely hold his own against the six. Her own magical energy was starting to fade and soon, he would vanish. One of the monsters landed a hit on his shoulder and he lurched forward momentarily, countering as quickly as he could, but six against one simply was not good odds.

"No!" Lilly yelled, stumbling forward in a feeble attempt to save her knight, but she didn't have the strength. All she could do was watch as one of the monsters stabbed him in the abdomen before another went for a stab to his back. They all surrounded him as he fell to all fours, dropping his sword to the ground.

"Stop it!" Lilly shouted with tears pouring from her eyes. "Don't hurt him!"

The largest of the six, the group's ringleader, brought down a massive cleaver, cutting the knight's head clean off its shoulders. Lilly was stunned into silence as her knight vanished into twinkling particles of light. The six turned their attention to her, marching slowly in her direction. She let her head hang, powerless to do anything to stop them. But the death she anticipated did not come.

She looked back up. They were fighting a new opponent, a girl dressed entirely in black with a knee-length coat over her clothes. Her snow-white hair was in a swept-up half ponytail. It flowed along with the rest of her clothing as she outmaneuvered and overpowered all six of the humanoid manifestations which guarded this innermost chamber of this Labyrinth.

 _Who...who is that?_ Lilly thought as she tried to stand. She leaned against the wall to stabilize herself. The new girl drove her knightly sword straight through the vampire-like girl before cutting her head off. She vanished from sight, moving too quickly for Lilly's eyes to follow. She instantly reappeared above the giant ringleader, floating above him. It noticed her and swung its meat cleaver at her, but she vanished again, this time landing on its shoulder and driving her sword into its neck, sending blood spurting all over the place.

Lilly fell back against the wall as her consciousness began to leave her. Her environment faded in and out and she could barely see her savior as she darted from opponent to opponent, besting each one in combat. The last thing Lilly saw before passing out was the girl in black standing over six corpses.

 

* * * * *

 

Ariadne entered Dr. Cherenkov's private office, where he and Kronos Jupiter were meeting.

"Ah, you're here," the head scientist said.

"Lilly Schnee is stable," she began. "Perseus and Demetri are with her at the manor. She should fully recover by tomorrow morning." She turned to Kronos without a word.

"Thank you, Ariadne," Kronos said, hesitating to continue with what was on his mind.

"Father?" she said, looking up at him over her eyeglasses.

"Sorry. I just..."

"It's all right. I'm fine where I am now."

"If you insist."

"I do. Like my brother, I am making a difference in the world."

"Yes, and I am proud of you, my dear Ariadne."

She bowed before leaving the office.

"Have we gone too far?" Kronos said.

"Perhaps," Dr. Cherenkov said, standing up and walking to his window to look out over Shade Academy's front courtyard. "But we cannot back down now. Otherwise, everything she has gone through will have been for nothing."

Kronos sighed. "I can't help but wonder if we've done the unthinkable with her. She has such a pure heart, and yet we are allowing it to tarnish."

"Such is the cruel destiny which awaits all who would bear the mantle of Hero. It is no different from what her mother endured twenty years ago."

"Still. I wish we could spare her the pain."

"As do I, Mister President."


	32. As the Flower Wilts

CHAPTER XXXII

_As the Flower Wilts_

 

The dawn light was unbearable today, but Lilly could not understand why. It wasn't until she was out of bed and staring at her own reflection in the mirror that she began to cry. She had watched her knight fall in battle, the first time she'd ever witnessed such a thing. He had sacrificed himself for her more than once, but it was the first time she saw his demise with her own eyes. He may have been no more than a magical projection born out of her power, but she could not deny that he seemed to have his own personality, with protecting her as his highest priority, even if the cost was his life.

But there was something she was forgetting, something of utmost importance. Her knight had his priorities, but she had her own.

_The Labyrinth!_

Without even bothering to change her clothes, she dashed out of her room with the intention of heading straight to Shade Academy to force her way into the Labyrinth one more time. No, she didn't need to go there at all. She could bypass all of the routines and go straight to the source, that rift in the middle of the city that she had been feeling all this time. It made sense that one would open up near the physical, real-world location of someone's Labyrinth—

She stopped in the living room. Perseus and his family were gathered around the television set, watching a live news broadcast. Her eyes opened wide as the headlines scrolled at the bottom of the screen.

A girl had just taken her own life this morning, a victim of incessant bullying. Lilly recognized the face they were showing. It was that girl, the Faunus girl in the Labyrinth. She had failed. Lilly had failed for the first time in her life, and the consequences were indeed dire.

_It's my fault. It's all my fault. I couldn't...I couldn't get to her in time._

Perseus noticed Lilly standing in the back of the room, tears pouring from her eyes as she covered her mouth to keep from crying out loud.

"Shit," he muttered as he hurried to shut off the television.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?" Dionysus whined.

"We don't need to be watching depressing crap for the morning. Gio, could you fix up some of that coffee I've been talking to you about?"

"Of course, young master," the butler said. "Will anyone else enjoy some coffee?"

"I'll have some," Kronos said.

Demetri gave him a single nod.

"I will as well," Juno said. "In fact, make some for everyone, if you could."

"Very well, madam," Giovanni said.

Perseus went straight to Lilly, but her eyes were glued to the television set, even though it was now showing black.

"Hey," he said quietly.

She didn't reply.

"Lilly?"

She remained unresponsive as Demetri joined them. The latter said nothing, simply standing by her side, a gesture to let her know that she did not stand alone. Perseus looked over at his companion, who returned his glance in silence.

"It wasn't your fault," Perseus said.

_You're wrong. It is my fault. It was my job to save her...and I failed._

"Are you hungry? Breakfast should be ready in a few minutes."

Still, she said nothing. There was nothing to say. She could not undo her mistake. She could not bring back the life that was lost because of her failure. There was no way she could go home now. She could never look her mother in the eye and tell her that someone died because she couldn't do her job right. If Ivory knew about this, she definitely wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

_If only you were stronger._

Lilly squeezed her eyes shut, sending tears falling as she attempted to silence that accursed voice in her head.

_You can't run away from this, Lilly. You've turned a blind eye long enough. You think that girl was the only one you couldn't save?_

Lilly stared at the ground in horror.

_That's right. How many Labyrinths do you think there are? How many have sprung up and consumed their victims without you even knowing about it? I mean, it's not that hard to imagine. There are, what, close to a billion people on Remnant now? That's, at the very least, millions of Labyrinths, probably more. You're taking on a handful every week. There's no way you could save them all._

She fell to her knees, the sudden realization crushing her. Meanwhile, Perseus's voice failed to reach her. The only thing she could hear now was the sound of her own despair.

_What did you think you could accomplish anyway? You've only just discovered these powers, and you're barely even a novice. The most powerful mages accumulate knowledge over decades, not mere months. And here you've never even opened a single tome. There's no way you could save everyone like you say you will._

"Stop it!"

Perseus and Demetri exchanged looks. She wasn't talking to either of them. She brought both hands to her ears to try and mute out the voice, but nothing could shut it out.

_Don't beat yourself up about it, though. It's not like a single person could possibly bear the weight of the entire planet on her shoulders. Unless you're so damn arrogant that you think you're some kind of god._

"Please!"

"Lilly?" Perseus said. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't be too intrusive," Demetri said to Perseus. "It seems whatever she's experiencing is solely for her. We must let it play out."

"But—"

"If we interfere, it may make things worse for her."

He was right. Perseus didn't want to admit it, but Demetri was right. Whatever it was Lilly was going through, it was way over their pay grade. He only wished he could do something for her.

_Perseus..._

"Huh?"

"Are you hallucinating now as well?" Demetri asked.

Perseus turned to him. "No, I just...thought of something, that's all."

Lilly's crying was uncontrollable now. She was on all fours, tears falling without any sign of ceasing. Ignoring Demetri's advice, Perseus leaned in, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

She continued to repeat the same words over and over again amidst her crying. Perseus could not bear the sight of their purest flower breaking like so. He, too, found himself sharing tears with her as they held each other.

 _I'd tell you that it isn't your fault,_ he thought, _but there's no way that's gonna get through to you. I was afraid this would happen someday. After all, you take the weight of the whole world on your shoulders. It was only a matter of time until you'd break under the pressure. No, Lilly, it's me who should be sorry. Maybe I should've stopped you before you got to this point. Although, I guess that woulda been pointless, huh?_

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly spent the entire day in her room, leaving for nothing. Perseus went to the furthest end of the manor's west wing to check up on her, but Demetri was still vigilantly standing guard at her door. Perseus gave him a glance.

"She still hasn't come out?" he said.

Demetri shook his head.

With a heavy sigh, Perseus leaned against the wall beside her door, letting himself slide down to the ground.

_Damn it. I never should've...if only I never opened my big mouth, you wouldn't be in this position. We'd all still be at Beacon and the whole team would be complete and...god damn it._

"Do you plan on staying here as well?" Demetri asked him.

What good would it do, though? Lilly wasn't coming out, and even if she did, all he'd be able to do is cry with her. Even now he could hear her sobs from the other side of the door. If only he had the power to go into the Labyrinth with her. If only he could fight by her side. Just like her knight.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," Perseus said, standing up and heading down the hall.

In the meantime, Demetri remained at his post, ensuring that there would always be someone nearby, that Lilly was not alone.

But in reality, she truly was alone. No one else bore this weight but her. And the failure was entirely her own.

It wasn't until afternoon when someone else came to her door. It was Ariadne, the youngest of the Jupiter family, the only one who did not live in the manor.

"Demetri Holland," she greeted the lone sentinel, pushing up her glasses.

"Yes?" he said.

"I'm surprised you haven't gone home yet. Isn't your father worried about you?"

"I have duties here."

"For the Schnee girl? From what I've heard, you're supposed to be Ivory's lapdog, aren't you? Does Lilly remind you of her or something?"

"In some ways, they are similar, even though they're mostly opposites. Either way, Lilly also saved my life. I intend to stay here for her."

"Very well." She went to the door to knock, but he barred her path. "Excuse me, but I have important business to attend to with Lilly."

"When she's ready to see anyone, she'll come out of her own accord."

She glared at him, but he would not budge. Knowing how stubborn the son of the General of Atlas could be, Ariadne yielded, taking a step back.

"Please notify me as soon as she leaves her room," she said, pulling out her scroll to exchange numbers with him.

"I will, ma'am," he said, taking down her information. "If I may ask, what exactly have you all been doing with her? She and Perseus filled me in on some of the information, but I am not quite sure I fully understand."

"I don't know what Atlas or the other kingdoms intend, but our mission here in Vacuo is to combat the Labyrinths. They are a threat not just to our national security, but the security of all mankind."

"And you believe Lilly is the key to all this?"

"You said yourself that she saved your life. I'm sure you've seen what she's capable of. If we can replicate her rune magic, we might stand a chance in the Labyrinth. But until then, we are at that other world's mercy."

"I see. If there is anything I may assist you with, please, do not hesitate to ask. I, too, wish to aid Lilly in whatever capacity I can. If it helps me find my team as well, who are lost in the Labyrinth, all the better."

"Demetri, I don't know how else to tell you this, but you were fortunate she got to you before your soul was eroded. Your team...likely has not been so lucky."

He took the news with a stoic face. It wasn't as though he hadn't already considered the possibility. After all, he had barely survived that ordeal by the skin of his teeth. The others were most likely dead, or worse.

"I will make sure you are the first to know when she leaves her room," Demetri said.

Ariadne gave him a single nod before departing.

 

* * * * *

 

It was nighttime when Lilly finally stopped crying. Her pillow was drenched when she sat up in bed. She averted her eyes from the mirror. She couldn't stand to see her own reflection now. She walked over to the window, looking out at the broken moon in the sky.

_Mom. I wish you were here._

She threw on some slippers before opening her door. Demetri was still standing guard.

"Miss Schnee," he said quietly.

"Lilly is fine," she croaked before clearing her throat. "Were you standing here all day?"

He didn't answer for a while. "I did not want anyone intruding on you while you were in mourning."

She managed a tiny smile, but it lasted all of a single second.

"Were you thinking of heading out?"

"I wanted to go to the Academy to place a call."

"Please, allow me to escort you."

She didn't object and he trailed her out of the manor, keeping a comfortable distance behind her. He had promised to let Ariadne know as soon as she was out of her room, but Lilly was still in mourning. That much was clear to him. He would not allow anyone to interfere with the process.

Shade Academy was still quite populated even this late in the evening, lively music playing at the dormitories with an impromptu game of volleyball out in the park nearby. There were a number of groups around campfires, most of their attention on whoever was playing guitar and singing at the moment.

But the festive nature of this campus could not melt the ice that was beginning to form around Lilly's heart.

She headed straight to the north end of campus, where the CCTS tower rose into the heavens like a monolith. She boarded the elevator with the silent Demetri in tow. She glanced at him as the ascent began. His eyes were straight ahead, face stern. From his posture alone, it was clear he was born and bred in Atlas. She imagined he would actually look great in a uniform.

Just like her cousin. For sure Ivory wouldn't have made the same mistakes she made. That Labyrinth, rather, _every_ Labyrinth, would be no problem for her.

"Oh, hello, Miss Schnee," the receptionist said. "Would you like to place a call?"

"Yes, please," Lilly said. "To Atlas."

"All right. Pick any terminal you like. Insider info, though, that one at the far left has the fastest connection. No bugs either."

"Thanks."

When Lilly arrived at her terminal, Demetri kept his distance to give her privacy. He faced the other direction, always vigilant. It wasn't as though he needed to guard her or anything, but it really was somewhat reassuring having him nearby.

Even if nothing changed. She was still alone no matter what.

She thought about what she was going to say to her mother as she spoofed her location to show Beacon Academy instead of Shade. Would she tell her everything about what she had been doing? Part of her wanted to. She'd already failed a Labyrinth. What more could go wrong?

Weiss picked up when, in a panic, Lilly disconnected the call. She looked at the keyboard, wondering why she had just done that. After composing herself, she re-sent the call, fighting away her apprehension as it went through.

All of her effort was in vain. The moment her mother's face was on the screen, she immediately went back into panic mode, but she didn't hang up this time.

"Lilly?" Weiss said.

Her mother's voice was always soothing, no matter what was going on.

"What happened? Did we lose connection just now?"

"Probably," Lilly lied. "How are you doing, mom?"

"I'm doing fine, what about you?"

"It's not super early there right now, is it?"

"No, it's fine. How are you?"

"I'm..." she sniffled, "...I'm okay."

A mother's instinct was too strong, though. There was no way Lilly could hide how she really felt.

"Actually, I'm not okay," Lilly said as tears began to cloud her vision.

"What's the matter, hon?" Weiss said as gently as she could.

"Mom? Have you ever...made a mistake so bad that...that you didn't think you'd ever recover?"

Weiss's heart skipped a beat. There were quite a few that fit that description, but perhaps the one mistake she made that she regretted more than any other was the mistake that led to the death of the one man she cared about more than anyone else.

"We've all made mistakes, my dearest," Weiss said. "But...take it from me. You will recover. You can always recover."

"How?"

"You have to find the light within yourself."

That was easier said than done.

"Lilly, is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's just, I dunno. This whole saving the world business is a lot tougher than I thought it would be."

"You have friends, Lilly. Don't ignore them."

"I know, but none of them have the same...gifts I do."

"Even still. If they offer you help, don't turn it down. What has Beacon taught you so far about teamwork?"

"That it's the most important thing, like, _ever_."

"And that's the reason you partnered up with Ingrid right off the bat, and why you're stuck in a four-person team, even though really it's more like a group of eight given your strong bond with Team APEX. Point is, you must never embark on a difficult task alone. You may sometimes feel like you're alone, but you never are."

"I guess."

"That won't do. Chin up. Shoulders back."

She languidly did as she was told.

"And what's with that frown?"

"Sorry. I just..."

"Hey, it's okay to mourn. A mistake is a mistake. Nothing can change that. But no matter how grim it may look on the outside, you will always find your way to the light again. Mourn for as long as you need to, but in the end, always keep one thing in mind."

"Keep moving forward," they both said together.

"That's my girl," Weiss said with a smile.

"Thanks, mom," Lilly said.

"How's summer break?"

"It's going good. I'm taking on missions and stuff for extra experience."

"That's good. Around Vale mostly?"

"Yeah. I guess first-year students aren't really allowed to leave the kingdom just yet."

"You'll get there. Soon, you'll be going all around the world saving people."

"Yeah. Well, I'll let you go now. You're probably tired."

"Tired of what? Gardening?"

They both shared a chuckle.

"Good night, dear," Weiss said.

"Night, mom."

Lilly let out a heavy sigh as the screen went blank. She couldn't very well tell her mother what she had really been up to, but it wasn't exactly a complete lie she had told. She _was_ taking on missions within the kingdom, just not the kingdom Weiss had mentioned. And she also left out the bit about the Labyrinth.

She let out another heavy sigh before standing up and joining Demetri.

"Did you have a good chat with your mother?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said. "You don't have to follow me everywhere, you know."

"If you want me to leave, then I will do so."

She shook her head. "I guess it's my way of saying 'thanks'."

"You're welcome."


	33. No Turning Back

CHAPTER XXXIII

_No Turning Back_

 

It had been a while since Lilly's last incursion into a Labyrinth. Her previous failure weighed heavily on her soul and she had spent the last three days resting both her mind and body. They were restless days, however. It was impossible to close her eyes without seeing that girl's face on the television screen, or her hopeless other self trapped in her Labyrinth. It was equally impossible to look upon any reflective surface and see anything other than a failure.

She took to social media, browsing the girl's page. Years ago, she had been a happy girl, but that all changed with her mother's death. Before long, the gloomy girl found herself besieged from all sides by relentless torment from all sources, chiefly those six that made their appearance in her Labyrinth.

Lilly went from page to page, tracking down each of the culprits. Their Labyrinth manifestations had their faces and it wasn't difficult to parse out who was whom. She researched each of them, discovering that they all went to the same high school as the girl who had killed herself.

A new kind of fire burned within her now, one born of determination, the will to redeem herself. At the same time, an unfamiliar sensation twined itself with that resolve, one that Lilly could not possibly recognize. After all, she had never permitted herself to harbor such feelings.

Hatred.

That was the only human word for the sensation. It was foreign and yet oddly comforting in a strange, twisted way.

She stood up from her computer, standing in front her mirror. Her reflection was different yet again, but she did not run this time. Nor did the image startle her. After all, the girl who stared back at her was the girl she had always been.

_So, what're you thinking?_

"I don't know," Lilly said to her reflection, which bore none of Lilly's uncertainty. Her hazel eyes were ringed by a golden glow, as if revealing an otherworldly power hidden beneath the surface.

_You do know, Lilly. You've always known. You could not bring salvation in the Labyrinth, but you have the power to bring justice in the real world._

"Justice..." she mumbled, looking at her left hand. Something shone brightly from the back of her fist and she turned it to take a peek. Something was there, a rune of some sort, but not the kind that she had ever seen before. All other runes were composed of geometric figures and ancient text, but this was entirely different, a tattoo-like image of...something. It looked like a scale of some sort, but not quite.

_So, it has chosen you, has it? This means you're the new judge of this world. The Rune of Atonement, one of the Primal Runes of Ecumene, has chosen you as its bearer. It's your duty, Lilly. You must bring justice to the world. You must bring atonement to those offenders._

"Atonement?"

_The balance has been upset and it must be restored._

Lilly balled her fist. Her reflection was right. A wrong had been committed and there was a price to pay. There had to be a price to pay. She could not accept that this world was so indifferent that it would allow six perpetrators to get away while a young girl was driven to suicide.

"I will be the hammer which brings justice to the world."

_Hell yeah. Go for it, Lilly. Show those assholes that they can't evade justice forever._

Lilly stood tall, resolute, absolutely sure about what she needed to do now. For the first time in what felt like much too long, her blood flowed through her veins like fire, the cloudiness of her mind dispelled. She was going to right this wrong that had been perpetrated upon the world.

And nothing would be able to stand in her way.

 

* * * * *

 

Perseus headed over to Lilly's room. Demetri was standing guard as usual.

"Still hasn't come out yet?" he asked.

Demetri shook his head.

"Wanna trade places? I haven't seen you so much as take a dump yet."

"I'll be fine," he said.

"All right."

Perseus stood against the wall on the other side of the door. He pulled out his scroll to check text messages and social media. He was going to leave a comment on Lilly's page when he noticed something odd. She had checked in at a local fast food place.

"You haven't seen her leave her room at all, right?" he said to Demetri, who nodded. "The hell?" He knocked on the door. "Hey, Lilly, you in there?"

There was no response. The two boys exchanged glances.

"She may be sleeping," Demetri said.

"She just checked in at some restaurant with her scroll," Perseus said before turning the doorknob. It wasn't locked.

Both boys stepped into the room. It was empty. The window was still shut.

"That's not possible," Demetri said, searching the room for her. The bathroom was also empty. "I have been here since this morning. There's no way she could have gotten past me."

"Dude, she has magic," Perseus said as he sat at her desk to investigate her computer. She had a single browser tab open. It was on the social media page of that girl who had killed herself. He sat in rapid thought for a moment, putting two and two together before going on a massive search.

"What are you looking for?" Demetri asked.

"Can you call my sister for me while I'm on this?"

"Sure, but what for?"

He didn't answer, but Demetri continued with the call.

"Ariadne is on the line, Perseus," he said.

"Put her on speaker for me."

"Perseus, what is it?" Ariadne's voice sounded through the speaker.

"I need you to look up a few names for me. I'm texting them to you right now."

"Okay. What did you want to know?"

"Find out if they all go to the same school together."

After a few seconds, she responded. "Yes, they go to the same high school. They should be in school right now."

"The same school that girl went to, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"Damn it. Okay, thanks, sis."

"You're welcome, but what is going on?"

"No time to explain. I'll see you later." He hung up.

"Are you going to fill me in?" Demetri said.

"Yeah, but we have to go. Now."

 

* * * * *

 

Vacuo was quiet today. The hustle and bustle of normal merchant life was not as intense as it usually was. Perhaps that was because among the people walked a shadow, one that bridged the gap between worlds, on whose left hand was the Rune of Atonement, from which was derived the authority to judge the living and the dead. No one was aware of her presence. Only a normal girl could be seen and heard walking amongst mortals.

Her ghostly white hair and supernaturally golden eyes caught no one's attention, for every soul that gazed upon her was fully subject to her will. There was no alarm in the presence of this cosmic force of nature, the very embodiment of Judgment. After all, in the grand scheme of the universe, there was no denying final judgment, no escaping it, and no controlling it. Just as all of creation will ultimately bow before death itself, all things were silent before her presence on this day, each one awaiting her decree.

 

* * * * *

 

"Perseus, wait," Demetri said as he stopped at a local bar.

"What?" Perseus said, his eyes going to the television set.

The reporter announced that a strange weather phenomenon had begun to affect a small region of Vacuo today, with temperatures within a single five-block radius at ten degrees lower than the surrounding area, still dropping as the day continued.

"Do you think that's her?" Demetri said.

Perseus looked at his scroll. Right in the center of that region was the high school attended by the girl and her six bullies.

"No doubt," he said. "Let's go."

 

* * * * *

 

"Welcome to Mount Horeb High School."

She smiled at the guard as he opened the gate for her. No one could resist her call today. No one could deny Judgment.

Mount Horeb High School was a beautiful campus. At least, that's how those of the mortal realm perceived it. She, on the other hand, walked among the shadows. Only she could see, feel, and hear the truth of the world. This unholy ground was devoid of all forms of life, forsaken by the wind and sun itself. Concrete was broken, steel rusted over, paint peeled away to reveal the innards of the buildings. Even the students and staff walking the forbidding halls were twisted, their forms revealing the true, tormented souls within their fleshly cages.

Her quarry was further in. Even now, she could feel their sins permeating the air. They would not escape judgment today.

 

* * * * *

 

Perseus fell to the ground as something sharp pierced his mind.

"What happened?" Demetri said, kneeling beside his companion. "Are you all right?"

He shook his head, trying to fight off the blurring vision. He looked around. Briefly, everything around him had transformed, night covering the land, ghoulish versions of human beings wandering around him amid broken streets and twisted steel.

"What is...going on?" he managed as he shifted back into the real world.

"What are you seeing?" Demetri said.

"I don't...know..."

Once again, his environment shifted into the Labyrinth and before him stood a single man, one clad in magnificent knightly armor, its color as black as the night itself.

_Perseus..._

"Who...who are..."

"Perseus, are you okay?"

Perseus turned to Demetri, who was lightly holding onto his shoulder. He was back in the real world.

"We have to get to her," he said, standing up in spite of the throbbing pain in his head. "We can't let her..."

"Which way is the school?"

"We're not that far. Just a few blocks."

"I'll be right beside you."

 

* * * * *

 

A student screamed as her eyes met an incomprehensible being walking the halls of her school. The Rune of Atonement finally revealed its true form to all who would see. None who gazed upon it could do so without their sanity crumbling, for Judgment laid bare the deepest sins that all mankind bore within, the sins each person was too ashamed of recognizing. Many who were forced to face the mirror fled in terror, while others collapsed where they stood, overwhelmed by their own guilt.

But there were six in particular who would be unable to flee, their bodies and minds anchored permanently where they stood, forced to await their final judgment and the atonement to follow.

 

* * * * *

 

"Fuck!" Perseus cried out as another sharp pain drilled into his mind.

Demetri managed to catch him before he fell to the ground and he shouldered him as they approached the school. They stopped, looking up at the sky as storm clouds gathered together with unnatural speed and ferocity.

"Is this her magic?" Demetri mumbled.

"She's...she's inside already..." Perseus said. "I can...I can feel her presence."

Demetri looked onward at a site of panic and terror. Faculty and students alike fled for their very lives while even security guards and police officers, who were tasked with protecting the common citizen, could not find in themselves the courage to rush into the danger zone. After all, the threat they faced today was not to the body, but to the soul itself. Even Demetri and Perseus could feel every fiber warning them to run in the opposite direction.

Only one thought overrode the absolute terror that gripped their hearts: the need to keep Lilly safe.

"C'mon," Perseus said, struggling against an intangible force. "She needs us now more than ever."

 

* * * * *

 

"Please," said one of the boys as he fell to his knees. "Please have mercy."

"Mercy," she said, her voice accompanied by a whisper and an echo at once. "I am not Mercy. I am Atonement. You search in the wrong place for Mercy, for she is not here."

"We're sorry for what we did to her!" said one of the only two girls in the group. "It was wrong! We all know it! But...but we're monsters, and stupid, and we didn't know any better!"

"I never thought she'd kill herself," another boy said. "I just...like she said, we were being stupid."

"That may be so," Judgment said as her voice echoed throughout the halls, "but Justice itself has been wronged and so must be paid in full."

 

* * * * *

 

"No!" Perseus yelled. "Lilly! Don't!"

Demetri looked around as Perseus fell against the wall. "Are you seeing her?"

"No, but I feel her presence. It's strong. It's...I can't breathe."

Again, his world flashed into the Labyrinth. At the end of the long hall was that same man clad in black knightly armor. And then, he was back in the real world.

"Who are you, dammit!"

Demetri looked ahead. There was no one there.

"Stop, Lilly!"

"Take my arm," Demetri said, shouldering Perseus as he struggled to stay on his feet.

 

* * * * *

 

"For your sin of manipulation and deceit, I bestow upon you Judgment. _Obwohl du die Wahrheit sagst, wird dir keiner jemals glauben._ "

The Darkness Rune shone its blackened light, bestowing its curse upon the girl, that none shall ever believe her, though she speak the truth.

"And for your sin of robbing another of the enjoyment of life, I curse you with the same. _Der Genuss des Lebens wird dich niemals für immer besuchen_."

"C'mon!" the ringleader yelled. "Fight back."

"How? There's no way we can fight against that thing."

"She's right. We all deserve this. If it weren't for us, she would still be alive."

 

* * * * *

 

"We're not gonna make it," Perseus grimaced as his heart grew heavy. His environment continued to shift back and forth between the real world and the Labyrinth.

"You keep phasing in and out of existence," Demetri said. "And you were transparent for a while."

"I don't know what it is. But something terrible is happening. And I don't know if we can stop it."

 

* * * * *

 

"For your sin of creating a hollow existence for another, you shall be rewarded in kind. _Möge die Hohlheit, die du zugefügt hast, dir zehnmal zurückgegeben werden._ "

The young man fell to his knees as a gaping hollowness unlike ever before filled his heart. Almost instantly, he was in tears, unable to do a thing but weep.

"And for you, _Mögest du in der dunkelheit wandern für immer._ "

Another was struck with irreversible blindness.

" _Möge deine welt für immer geräuschlos sein_."

Deafness befell the fifth member of the group. Only one remained standing in insolence despite being face to face with Judgment itself, despite the rest of his comrades wailing in despair and agony from the curses their bodies and souls bore.

"So, what, am I gonna get all the curses together?" he said, as rebellious as ever.

Judgment turned to him. The Darkness Rune hovering in the air vanished.

"Oh, I get special treatment, do I?"

"Even now, you continue to be unrepentant. Your friends have received atonement not unbefitting of their crimes and their penitence. But your defiance and arrogance have earned you the ire of the gods themselves."

She brought up her left hand. The image of the Rune of Atonement, the scales tipped too far in one direction, projected itself in the air, exerting a pressure that forced everyone to their knees as it asserted its dominion over the entire world.

 

* * * * *

 

"By the gods," Demetri said as he struggled to stay upright. "What the hell is that?"

"It's...Lilly..." Perseus managed as the pressure threatened to crush him into oblivion. _Why does this hurt so much? What is happening to me?_

_Perseus Jupiter. Who art thou?_

_What?_

_Dost thou seek judgment for thyself?_

_Judgment?_

"Perseus!" Demetri said, managing to shake his companion out of his trance.

"This way..." he said, pushing open a door to a classroom, from which radiated an otherworldly light.

The authority of the Rune of Atonement was too much for Demetri and he fell to his knees as he gazed upon the magnificence of that rune and the one who bore it. She floated in the air, her nightgown billowing with her hair as the Primal Rune exerted a primordial force upon the world.

"Rune of Atonement," Lilly's voice echoed as a whisper accompanied it.

Perseus screamed as his left hand began to burn. Something was carving itself into his flesh.

"What...the hell...is going on?" he said as he held his wrist, screaming as the pain became too intense for him to bear.

"Perseus!" Demetri said. The force exerted by the Primal Rune was so great that he was paralyzed, but he could see as clearly as day. The image carving itself into Perseus's left hand was identical to the one projecting itself on the ceiling above Lilly and her target, that image of a scale, which was weighted on one side far too much. At the top of the center post was an all-seeing eye.

"For your sin of unrepentant evil," Lilly said, her voice rising in volume, "I bestow upon you the same Hell that you put that girl through. Rune of Atonement! Cast your judgment upon the accused!"

The Primal Rune shined with a surreal fiery, black glow, the all-seeing eye at the top of the center post focusing its gaze directly on the boy.

"The Rune has passed judgment. Your fate, is _Eternal Perdition_!"

The defiant attitude and impenitence vanished as soon as the shadowy black hands extended from the Rune of Atonement, gripping the boy tightly as they slowly dragged him toward the gateway formed by the eyeball at the top of the Primal Rune. His cries of despair and agony reached as high as the heavens as his body and soul were forced into his own personally crafted Labyrinth, where he would wander for the rest of eternity.

The chaos that once filled the classroom was replaced by an instant, deafening silence as the Rune of Atonement continued to hover in the air, casting its gaze upon everyone in the room. Slowly, the scales shifted until both sides were in perfect balance. When it was satisfied by the state of the world, it vanished from view, to be summoned again when the balance was upset once more.

"Lilly?" Perseus managed with a tiny voice.

Lilly turned to her companion, finally waking from her trance as she made eye contact with him before losing consciousness and falling to the ground. With the pressure of the Primal Rune finally gone, Demetri sprang to his feet, rushing to Lilly's side. He cradled her head as he looked around. The remaining five of the group of bullies were mostly catatonic, some wandering around aimlessly, particularly the one who was struck with blindness. Demetri could not believe that this girl, out of everyone in the world, would be capable of inflicting such atrocities upon others.

Then again, anyone could be capable of anything if pushed far enough.

"Lilly, are you okay?" he asked her.

She groaned, but didn't open her eyes. Demetri turned to Perseus, who was gripping his left hand. On the back of his fist was a perfect likeness of the Rune of Atonement, the all-seeing eye shut for now.

"I believe it would be best for us to return to your home as soon as possible," Demetri said.

Perseus nodded, looking at the image that had burned itself onto the back of his left hand.


	34. Black Ice

CHAPTER XXXIV

_Black Ice_

 

Days passed since Lilly was last awake. A little over a week remained before the fall quarter would begin and they had to leave soon, but Perseus was not exactly itching to bring a comatose Lilly back to their friends. Athena would probably drive her spear through his heart without bothering to ask questions.

"She's stable, at least," Ariadne said as she examined the medical monitoring equipment. The bedroom had been turned into a makeshift hospital room. "There's nothing wrong with her. Not physically."

"But it seems her mind has taken a great toll," Dr. Cherenkov said, "one that we could not possibly fathom."

"Will she be okay?" Kronos asked, looking out the window as the rain continued to pour down for the third straight day.

"To be honest, father, we don't know," Ariadne said as she wiped her eyeglasses. "If she were any normal person, it would not be difficult to tell, but because of what she is, well, we don't have the means to peer into her soul as easily as she walks through the Labyrinth."

There was quiet for some time.

"Does anyone want anything to drink?" Juno asked the group. "I'm going to make some coffee. That might help to stave off this cold weather we've been getting lately."

"I'll have some, hon," Kronos said.

"Sure, mom, I'll have the kind that Perseus and Demetri like," Dionysus said.

"Nothing for me, thank you, mother," Ariadne said.

"Perseus?" Juno said, stopping beside her son.

"Huh?" he said, turning to her.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Oh, no, not for me, thanks."

She exchanged glances with Kronos before gesturing to Demetri, who also declined with a simple hand motion. Orion stepped into the room, but not before greeting his mother with a kiss to the cheek. As always, he was dressed to impress, his outfit bordering on almost militaristic.

"How's everything going at the school?" Kronos asked him.

"Good," Orion said. "Headmaster Vasilias sends his regards, though I suppose that's useless given that she hasn't woken up." He walked to the side of the room with his father. "Anyway, he's also added me to his staff. I'm assistant headmaster now."

"Second in charge of the whole school, hmm?"

"Yes. It's going to take some getting used to, but I'm hoping to be able to organize things a lot better than they are now. He's done a good job so far as headmaster, but he still embodies the old Vacuo. The new Vacuo needs to have more focus."

"Do you intend on dismantling the current dual-major system?"

"Not at all. After all, the duty of a Huntsman is to safeguard the human race. It would be useless to be able to destroy Grimm without being able to also preserve what remains of our culture. However, it is necessary that we shift the focus toward strengthening Semblances and improving strategic and tactical thinking. After all, our enemy is no longer just the Grimm."

"This is exactly the kind of forward thinking that our academy needs. You have my full endorsement, my son."

"Thank you, father." He glanced over at the bed. "If there is anything I can do for the young miss, please, do not hesitate to summon me."

"I know I can count on you, Orion. But to be honest, I don't think there's anything any of us can do for her. She's far above anyone's pay grade."

"Believe me, I know this firsthand. Covering up the incident at Mount Horeb High School was the most difficult task I have ever undertaken. It would have been impossible without the resources of both the Academy and our family."

"Perseus, Dionysus, Demetri, will you join us for lunch?" Kronos asked them.

"I'll join you guys," Dionysus said, glancing at the others.

"Dr. Cherenkov? Ariadne?"

"I need to stay with my charge," Ariadne said as she pushed up her glasses. "Dr. Cherenkov, please, have lunch with my father. I will take over."

"Are you certain?" Dr. Cherenkov said.

"Yes. Perseus, you should go as well."

"I'm staying," he said.

Demetri nodded in accord.

"Very well," Ariadne said. "Father, my brother and his friend will be keeping us company."

"We'll bring some lunch for the three of you, then," Kronos said before turning to Giovanni, who had kept silent just outside the door. "Gio, please, stay with my son in case he needs anything."

"Of course, sir," the butler said.

The room was quiet as Ariadne went around from monitor to monitor, trying to make sense of the data. Everything about Lilly was completely normal, all except for one thing. The EEG machine displayed very erratic brain activity, not too dissimilar from what could be typically found in the REM sleep cycle, but this was much higher than normal. Ariadne's theory was that Lilly was going through quite an experience, perhaps not even in this world.

"It's my fault," Perseus mumbled, catching the attention of both his companions. "I should never have brought her here. She'd still be safe and sound at Beacon, all of us together, and she wouldn't be—"

"Are you certain of that, big brother?" Ariadne said.

He looked to her.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know she wouldn't have ended up like this anyway? After all, from what I have gathered, it is in her very nature to try and save everyone. We've seen that on the monitors every single time she crossed into a Labyrinth. I have no doubt that she would still be doing what she has been doing even if you had never brought her to us. The main difference is that she has the support of our entire family along with Shade Academy's Rift Team. Did you have such a thing back at Beacon Academy?"

Perseus didn't answer.

"Brother, what you have done for her is a _good_ thing. It was inevitable that this would happen to someone who shoulders the weight of the entire human race, but you've given her the support that she so desperately needed."

"I agree with your sister, Perseus," Demetri said. "There are many parallels between Lilly and her cousin, but Ivory knows when to call on support. Lilly, on the other hand, needs us to back her up without her asking. She's too self-sacrificing to burden her friends."

"I could have done more," Perseus said. "If only, if I could have just, I don't know. _Anything_ but this."

"You've done all you can. _We've_ all done all we can. But there's one thing I have learned after being friends with a Schnee for so long. It's that we must have faith in them. I realized long ago that I could not be the one to protect Ivory. After all, she was better than me at everything. All I could do was be there for her. Lilly needs us to have faith in her as well."

Perseus let out a heavy sigh. They were both correct in their assessments. It wasn't as though he could do anything in any case. Magic was far, _far_ above them. "I'll be outside if you need—"

Lilly gasped as she sat upright.

"L-Lilly?"

Ariadne went straight to the monitors to check on her status. Everything was nominal. Lilly stared straight ahead for some time, breathing rapidly and deeply. She looked around, her eyes landing on her two companions at the bedside before meeting with Ariadne, who was examining her intently.

"Are you feeling okay, Lilly?" Ariadne asked her.

"What?"

"Do you have any headaches? Any blurry vision?"

Lilly stared at her for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I'm fine. What the hell is all this?" she said as she looked at the wires and other things hanging from her body.

"You were unconscious," Perseus said. "You've been on IVs and tube feeding for three days now."

"That's what this thing in my nose is?"

The trio watched in amazement as Lilly proceeded to yank out the thin feeding tube coming out of her nostril. The line made her sneeze as it fully exited.

"My god that was gross," she said, wiping off the feeding fluid from her face before stopping to try some. "Oh, jeez, that's way too sweet."

"Lilly, are you feeling okay?" Perseus asked her.

"Yeah, I'm good," she said, removing the rest of the medical equipment from her body. She bled as she pulled the IVs out, but quick work with a Water Rune's healing spell took care of it. "Hey, I'm hungry. Anybody up for some big greasy burgers?"

Perseus chuckled. "I'll buy."

"Awesome. C'mon then, Mr. Handsome Prince of Vacuo."

He chuckled again. "You gonna get dressed first? I mean, I guess a nightgown suits you just fine, but—"

"Mmm, you're right," Lilly said, looking at herself in the mirror before going through her wardrobe, throwing things over her shoulder as she rummaged through. "Here we go. Good thing I bought this for a rainy day."

She took off her nightgown right in front of the group. Perseus and Demetri immediately reddened and faced the other direction. Ariadne cleared her throat twice before Lilly noticed.

"You tryin'a call me?" Lilly said.

"You aren't alone in here, you know," Ariadne said.

"Yeah, but look. They're being real gentlemen."

The change in personality certainly did not go over Ariadne's head. Nor did it get past Demetri, who had been closely examining her since she had woken up. In all the time he had known this girl, he never once heard her utter a single word of profanity. He gave Ariadne a glance and she returned it. They were both thinking the same thing.

Perseus, on the other hand, failed to notice anything. After all, he was simply glad that Lilly was awake. He brought up his left hand to look at the rune that had carved itself into his flesh all those days ago. Nothing happened since that day. As far as anyone else was concerned, this mark was no more than an inert tattoo. Only he and Demetri knew what it symbolized.

"There," Lilly said, posing in front of her mirror.

"Huh?" Perseus said.

"Something wrong?"

"N-Nothing, just..."

"You're wearing a lot of black," Demetri said.

"My shirt's not black," Lilly said.

"But everything else is."

"You don't think black and red looks good on me?"

Demetri sized her up and down. She was clad from head to toe in dark colors, a black knee-length coat topping off a dark red v-neck shirt and black pants with black boots. She reached into a drawer to pull out a black bow she used to tie up her hair into a ponytail.

"Sweet," Lilly said, giving herself a once-over in the mirror. "Hey, what are all of you guys doing today?"

"Huh?" Perseus said.

"We had nothing planned," Demetri said. "Why do you ask?"

"Let's go to the lake," Lilly said. "I've been wanting to hit the beach since we got here."

"But, it's pouring down outside," Ariadne said.

"Is it?"

Ariadne turned to the window, giving a second glance before marching to and opening it up. To her disbelief, the rain had ceased entirely, the clouds gradually dissipating right before her eyes.

"What amazing power," she mumbled to herself. "Lilly, is that you doing that?"

"Me doing what?"

"N-Nothing, never mind."

"So, you gonna hit the beach with us?"

"I actually have to go to Shade Academy for some work."

"What, more nerd Labyrinth work?"

"As a matter of fact, yes."

"Hmm. Nope, you're coming with us. You need to get some sun."

"I'm fine, really."

"Nah-uh. You need your Vitamin D. The D stands for 'Daylight', obviously."

"I really can't—"

"I'll set your notebook on fire."

She stiffened.

"I'm just kidding! Seriously, Ariadne, please?"

Ariadne wondered if she was actually joking. From the delivery of her "joke," she feared that it wasn't a joke at all.

"All right, then," she acquiesced. "I'll join you."

"Awesome!"

Perseus quickly filled Giovanni in on the situation and the latter went to report to the head of the Jupiter family. Of the quartet, Lilly was the first outside, standing in a single ray of sunlight that peered through the thick, dark clouds overhead. As she breathed in the warm Vacuo air, the clouds continued to break apart, allowing more and more sun to shine through.

"Man, it's been too long since I've had some sun," she said.

"Seriously, though," Perseus began, "are you feeling okay?"

"Of course I'm feeling okay. Why, do I seem different to you?"

"Just a bit."

"Dude, lighten up! I didn't die, you know."

He went rigid. "That's not funny."

She grinned. "The look on your face sure is, though."

Meanwhile, Demetri continued to watch their companion as she went from stall to stall on their way to the big lake to the northwest of the city. She bought nothing, but interacted with just about everyone in her path. There was no evidence at all of the emotional turmoil of the past weeks.

"Does she seem different to you?" Perseus asked Demetri.

"Finally you noticed," Ariadne said.

"It's just, I dunno. Her mood had basically been on the decline and then suddenly here she is."

"Maybe three days of sleep was all she needed," Demetri said.

"Man, that ain't funny."

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

He chuckled. "What do you think, sis?"

"I don't know," she said. "There's no way for us to know what she's been going through in her head these past three days. What happened to the three of you anyway?"

Demetri and Perseus had decided on that day to keep the event a secret, only divulging the absolute basics along with a partial lie, that some magical phenomenon centered on Lilly had caused a major space-time distortion resulting in a few casualties. They left out the fact that she had cursed all six of said casualties.

"Did she really go to the school to confront those bullies?" Ariadne pressed.

"We didn't actually know," Demetri said. "Perseus was the one who put two and two together. Perhaps the emotional stress of being face to face with that girl's tormentors triggered some uncontrolled cascade of magical phenomena."

"Hmm. Our equipment did detect a massive space-time anomaly at the school. We still don't know the extent of her power. This might have been a tiny showcasing of it—"

"Are you guys gossiping about me?" Lilly said from behind the group, making Ariadne freeze mid-speech.

"We were," Perseus said. "Do you remember what happened when you went to Mount Horeb High School?"

"Huh? That's not the name of my high school."

"So you don't remember."

"Remember what?"

"Just before your coma."

She stood in thought. "Hmm. The last thing I remember before waking up is coming home from a Labyrinth. Come to think of it, I can't remember what the Labyrinth was all about or who I was supposed to save that time."

"Perhaps that magical event scrambled your memories," Ariadne said.

"I'll scramble _your_ memories."

Ariadne froze again.

"My god! I'm just kidding with you! Are you gonna take every joke seriously?"

 _They sound like threats, so yes,_ Ariadne thought to herself. "I apologize. I did not mean to—"

"Relax!" Lilly said, wrapping an arm around her. "Let's just enjoy the walk to the..."

There was a fight going on just ahead of them. No one interfered with the four very large men beating up on the smaller man. They yelled something about owing them money, to which the younger man pleaded. Lilly and her group stood several feet back, watching as one of the men stabbed the younger man in the side.

"Oooh, that's not good," Lilly said.

The two boys in their group looked at her. She was smiling as she watched the fight go on. By now, they were both itching to jump in and help the young man out, but Lilly seemed to find this entertaining. Police officers finally came to break up the fight and arrest two of the assailants; the other two managed to flee.

"That sucks," Lilly said. "I was kinda hoping the dude would stand up for himself. Eh, whatever. Then again, the old saying is still true, right? Only the strong survive in Vacuo."

The rest of the group followed silently as she led the way to the lake resort, using her scroll's map function to navigate the way there. She spent most of the time in glee at everything around her, an odd distortion of the formerly innocent joy she had for the world. There was something very strange about this new Lilly, something that was unsettlingly similar and yet foreign all at once. Perseus's earlier relief from her recovery was gone by now and he noticed the uncanny behavioral change in his friend.

"Hey, your family owns this resort, right?" Lilly said as they came upon the lake.

"Yeah," Perseus said.

"Sweet. Looks like they have a small outlet, too. C'mon, let's go!"

Demetri sent a glance to Perseus, who shrugged before he and his younger sister followed after Lilly.

"Welcome to Vacuo's very own lake...resort," the girl behind the counter said. "What the heck are you two doing here?"

"It's good to see you, too, Helen," Ariadne said.

"Oh, are you the cousin Perseus has talked about?" Lilly said to her.

"Yeah, I am," Helen said. "You are?"

"Uh, Lilly Schnee," Perseus said. "Helen, meet Lilly Schnee. Lilly, this is my cousin, Helen."

"Awesome place you guys got here," Lilly said.

"A Schnee, huh?" Helen said.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

"Not me personally. You're a long way from home."

"And you're getting on my nerves. You sure you wanna go down this road?"

"Uhh," Perseus said taking Lilly by the arm and leading her away. "Hey, what's up?"

"What do you think you're doing?" she said to him, her scowl making his skin crawl.

"N-Nothing," he said. "I just, it sounds like you're having a bad day, that's all."

"Thanks to your dick hole of a cousin."

"Look," Helen said, "I'm sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. Check the place out if you like. I was just curious as to what the daughter of Vacuo's mostly hated enemy is doing here, but your eyes are hazel, so you've gotta be the bitch Schnee's cousin, the nicer one."

"Oh, you know my bitch cousin, do you?" Lilly said, gleefully skipping to the counter, closing the gap between her and Helen to the point that the latter backed away tenuously.

"Y-Yeah. Well, not personally. She's been here on business more than once. Accompanying the SDC president as his bodyguard every time."

"Uncle Whitley, huh? I take it my grandpa never comes down here?"

"I don't think I've ever seen old man Schnee make a personal appearance."

"Figures. He's the biggest asshole around. Anyway, you guys sell beach clothes, yeah?"

"Sure, right over that way."

"Awesome. Hey, we'll probably book a room tonight for the four of us, too."

"It's on the house for the first night, then. Family friends and all that."

"You're awesome."

"I know."

Meanwhile, Ariadne had been text messaging on her scroll, reporting to Dr. Cherenkov.

"You gossiping about me again?" Lilly said, looking over her shoulder.

"J-Just letting Dr. Cherenkov know you're nice and healthy," Ariadne said.

"W-Why you st-stuttering?"

"I'm not!"

"You tryin'a hide somethin' from me?"

"I have nothing to hide!" Ariadne said, showing her scroll.

"Dude, relax already. Actually, don't relax. It's fun teasing you."

Ariadne reddened. "What are we doing now?"

"Shopping for clothes."

"Huh?"

"I think this looks cute," Lilly said, holding up a summer dress for Ariadne. "I think it goes well with your brown hair and brown eyes."

"Oh," Ariadne said, reddening. "I, uh, thank you, but—"

"No buts. You're trying this on."

"O-Okay."

Lilly dragged Perseus's younger sister to the fitting rooms while the two boys stayed outside.

"Okay," Perseus said. "I am officially creeped out by her right now."

"Your sister and I were wondering when you would notice," Demetri said.

"What the hell happened to her while she was unconscious?"

"It's anyone's guess. Given her magical properties, however, I would suspect something of that nature."

"You think maybe she was in a Labyrinth while unconscious?"

"It's possible. After all, the mirror images of people that she encounters in the Labyrinth aren't the actual people themselves. While there are those who can be dragged into that other world, such as all of those missing persons cases, and even ourselves, it seems that the Labyrinth also contains, what are perhaps spiritual copies of real-world people."

"Kinda like shadows."

"Perhaps. When she frees these mirror images is when the person in the real world is saved from whatever turmoil plagues them."

"You're saying that maybe she has a mirror image or shadow in the Labyrinth, too?"

"One cannot be sure, but I would suspect so. Perhaps that side of her went through something and that caused this change we are now witnessing. However, the fact remains that there is no way for us to determine for sure what transpired during her coma."

"Check it out!" Lilly said, pushing Ariadne to the two boys.

Demetri admired the new look. Gone were the formal pants and button-down shirt, replaced by a yellow summer dress and straw-colored sandals. Her brown hair was also no longer in a bun, instead flowing freely down her shoulders to her upper back.

"Wow," Perseus said. "What the hell did you do to my sister?"

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Lilly said with a big smile.

"I..." Ariadne began, tugging downward on her skirt, "...I feel so...so exposed."

"You do look lovely," Demetri said with a slight bow.

The comment made Ariadne quickly redden.

"The big ol' round glasses really tops off the look, I think," Lilly said, tilting her head as she sized her companion up and down. "Yup. We're totally gonna put your hair up in pigtails. Or maybe twin braids."

"N-No, really, I insist," Ariadne said. "I-I never dress up for anything, not even for prom."

"She's not lying," Perseus sighed. "I'm pretty sure she went to her high school prom in a lab coat. I wasn't there to see it, but I'm absolutely positive she did."

"You shut your mouth!"

"Am I wrong, though?"

Her response was a silent frown.

"I told you."

Lilly couldn't help but chuckle. "Dude, it's a good look. You can totally rock it. Hey, what about you, Demetri?"

"Me?" he said.

"Mm-hmm. Let's see..."

The others watched as she browsed through the men's section.

"I'm never gonna get used to you without a lab coat on," Perseus said.

"Shut up!" Ariadne stomped.

"Here, try these on!" Lilly said, handing Demetri a pair of tan shorts, a white tank top, and a flowery button down shirt, along with a pair of flip flops and a straw boater hat with sunglasses to top off the look.

"These are a little..." Demetri began.

"Informal? Kinda the look I was going for. But I know you like to dress to impress, so I threw in the boater hat. It's not super formal, but it still tells people you mean business."

"I will try the outfit on, then."

"Super!"

Lilly turned to Ariadne and Perseus, who had since begun a small quarrel, with Perseus mostly poking at his sister and the younger one growling and hissing at him.

"You're already dressed good, though," Lilly said with a frown as she examined Perseus's outfit.

"Well, I have taste, unlike Ariadne," he said.

"I'm gonna stab you with a pencil!" Ariadne yelled.

"I told you it was supposed to be a compliment!"

"It was _so_ not a compliment!"

"It's not my fault you took it the wrong way!"

"Shut up!"

Lilly sighed. "I wish I had a sibling. Or two. Hell, you guys have a lot."

"Tons of cousins, too," Perseus said. "Helen's just one."

Demetri stepped out of the fitting room. He had left the shirt unbuttoned, as Lilly had suggested.

"Wow," Lilly said with a grin. "Too bad Ivory isn't here to see you. I think she would approve a lot."

Demetri found himself reddening.

"Okay, I'm gonna get changed."

"Man, I am never gonna get used to this," Perseus said. "My sister is dressed for summer fun and the Atlas prince isn't in a friggin' military uniform or a business suit."

"I've never worn anything like this before," Demetri said. "I suppose it's because I never had occasion to."

"Right, I doubt you could wear anything like that in Atlas without freezing your balls off. You never hit the beaches at Vale, though?"

He shook his head.

"Not everyone is a party animal like you are!" Ariadne yelled at him.

"Hey, hey, you're confusing me with DJ."

"You ought to be more like our eldest brother!"

"I like being the happy medium between those two, okay?"

"Ugh!"

Demetri made a double take at Lilly, who rejoined them.

"Whoa," Perseus said, eyeing her outfit.

In complete contrast to the all-black clothing she had just been wearing, Lilly was now clad in a dark red, two-piece bikini.

"From the looks on both of the guys' faces, I'd say it's pretty rockin'," Lilly said with a snicker.

Perseus responded, but the language he spoke wasn't anything spoken by any human populations on Remnant. Demetri was much quicker in regaining his composure and he approached their companion.

"Might I escort you to the beach, then, Lilly?" he said, holding out an arm.

Lilly looked up at him and grinned. "You think you can handle me, Knight of Atlas?"

"I certainly am up to the challenge."

"Who are we kidding? You deal with Ivory regularly."

"Can I change back into my real clothes yet?" Ariadne begged.

"Don't be like that!"

"My arms and legs never see so much sunlight!"

Lilly laughed before leading the way outside.

 

* * * * *

 

"This is quite the development," Kronos said as he and Dr. Cherenkov met in the former's office at the manor.

"Yes," Cherenkov said. "The equipment in her room detected a significant change in her waveform."

"That's the signature of her soul, is it not?"

"It is. All technology developed in part by both Atlas and Dr. Hillphire, perfected by Hillphire Innovation in the previous decades."

"What was the change detected?"

"It's odd, really. At first glance, it seems like there is a new soul inhabiting her body, and yet, when you compare the two waveforms, it's almost as if they are two puzzle pieces that fit together to form a complete whole."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it. Just that the two are not opposites. They are perfectly complementary. Of course, it could be just that her waveform is flexible and changes as time goes on. After all, our own waveforms do the same over time, just like our DNA."

"That occurs over years, though, doesn't it?"

"Yes, you're right about that."

Kronos walked over to a window to look out at the city. The skies were clear. Other than the remaining puddles of water and soaked dirt, it was impossible to tell that it had rained for three straight days.

"My suggestion, Mr. President, is that we stop her incursions for some time," Dr. Cherenkov said.

"But why?" Orion said as he entered the office. "She's been making so much progress with the program. We're so much closer to defeating this Labyrinth thing once and for all!"

Kronos faced his eldest son and put a hand on his shoulder. "You won't understand until you have children of your own," he said. "But beyond that, you're right. She _has_ been making so much progress, much more than we could have ever hoped for. It is for that reason that I believe she deserves at least _some_ rest. We can't let her get burned out."

"I agree with your father," Dr. Cherenkov said.

"I just," Orion began, "I don't like seeing a good opportunity go to waste. And besides that, you've seen the footage captured by our surveillance drones. She's completely recovered from whatever has been bothering her for the last week."

"That may be how it is on the outside," Kronos began, "but we don't know what kind of burden she bears on her soul. In any case, we'll give her a week off."

"Perhaps we should offer the suggestion of returning to Beacon," Dr. Cherenkov said.

"I cannot agree with that," Orion said. "She is the key to everything."

"But she is also human. I may be a scientist, but I am human first and foremost. Is that not the reason you are now Neptune Vasilias's right-hand man?"

"Yes, I suppose you are correct." He turned to Kronos. "Father, whatever your decision may be, you have my support."

"Then, let us allow Lilly to decide," Kronos said.

With a bow, Orion left the room.

"Do you plan on sharing any of this information with the others, sir?" Dr. Cherenkov said.

"Not yet," he said. "Ozpin is a little too overprotective of the girl."

"I understand why. He fought alongside her mother in the war. If I were in the same position, I might be a little overprotective of her as well."

"Yes, well, it's more complicated than that. You know what happened to her father, don't you?"

"I do. I am very well aware that it was his sacrifice that allows us to breathe free air to this very day."

"Yes. And perhaps it is only fitting that she is the same way."

"There's still that other...situation we need to deal with."

Kronos sat in his desk chair. "Has there been another incident?"

Dr. Cherenkov nodded. "The entire town is completely devoid of people."

"Damn. What in the world is going on?"

"I've asked Ozpin about the other events. No one in the entire world has any idea what's happening. The only clues we have are the strange space-time distortions detected by nearby equipment when the mass disappearance happened. I would posit that it has something to do with the Labyrinth."

"If that is the case, that girl may be our only hope."


	35. Devil

CHAPTER XXXV

_Devil_

 

"This is quite the place, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Vacuo, I mean."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Compared to all of the other kingdoms, Vacuo is the one where humanity is tested to its breaking point. The weak are culled and the survivors, well, they become some of the best the world can offer, don't you think?"

"I suppose so."

"Look at the other kingdoms. Atlas is a homogenous society that focuses on centralizing power and keeping its masses under control. Vale tries to balance democracy and authority, but cronyism and greed tend to ruin the works of those in power who are genuinely trying to extend altruism to the people. Mistral is a place where two very different cultures meet, those of native Anima-descent from the south and those of Atlesian heritage from the north. It's also got a quaint feel to it, don't you think?"

"Only you would know such things."

"And then there's Menagerie. What used to be no more than a zoo for the undesirables of human society has now become its own kingdom, its economic and military power matching those of the other four kingdoms. The White Fang is no longer a band of rebels. Instead, it's the official military force of the kingdom and its diplomatic outreach agency, with Ilia Amitola as the head of the organization. And with the new Dust deposits discovered in the east of the continent, Menagerie is on its way to becoming a world superpower."

"Perhaps."

"But this kingdom, hmm? One would be hard pressed to even call this country a 'kingdom.' The word implies a form of order, but until recently this place was the antithesis of the word—it was absolute chaos! In a way, it still is. Only the strong survive here, after all."

"Is that why we're here?"

"Of course not. We came here to relax. The beaches at Vale were too crowded."

"Must I remind you, Azazel, that we are rather pressed for time?"

"You don't have to remind me of anything, Samael. I am well aware of our timetable. I simply like to remind myself of what we fight for."

"You mean the humans?"

"No, not for them specifically, but for what they represent, my brother."

Azazel put a hand on Samael's shoulder and gesticulated to the crowd gathered at the great lake of Vacuo.

"Freedom," he said.

"Free will, you mean," Samael said.

"Mm-hmm."

"He may have his quirks, but there's a reason he's our leader."

The duo turned to face their comrade, who had her arms folded across her chest.

"Tamiel, how nice of you to join us," Azazel said. "Mmm, the bikini looks wonderful on you."

"I don't think purple is your color," Samael said, his delivery as stoic as ever.

"You think red is better?" Tamiel said.

"Yes."

"See?" Azazel said. "He thinks you're hot, too."

Samael sighed heavily. "I'm returning to the hive. Summon me if you need anything."

"I need you here, Samael!"

He sighed again. "For what?"

"Because you're my friend! And you're the only one who understands me!"

"You're wrong. I don't understand a thing about you."

"I'm hurt!"

Tamiel giggled before sitting in Azazel's lap and stroking his chest. "Let him go, Azazel. I wanted to have you all for myself anyway."

"Oh. Ohh. Yeah, you know what, go ahead and report to the rest of the Inner Circle, Samael. I'm going to enjoy some sunbathing with Tamiel. She's the only one out of all of you who seems to understand what it means to enjoy life."

Samael sighed as he turned to leave. "By the way, that girl has contacted me."

"Which girl?"

"The one you seem to have such an obsession with."

"Huh? Tamiel's right here."

"No. The one who once served Salem."

"Oh, wait, the fiery one?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Did she say she'd meet with me?"

"Under certain conditions."

"Keep me posted, then. In the meantime, Tamiel, would you like a cocktail?"

"That depends," she said. "Is that a euphemism for something?"

He grinned at her. "Did you want it to be?"

She grinned back. "Maybe."

"Okay, I'm leaving now," Samael said before disappearing.

"You'll never stop teasing him, will you?" Tamiel said.

"Never," Azazel said. "I enjoy it too much. He's such a stiff."

"It tends to happen when you're stuck with _his_ job."

 

* * * * *

 

"C'mon, Perseus!" Lilly yelled as the volleyball headed for her teammate.

"I got this one!" Demetri said as Perseus set up the hit for him, but his spike over the net was intercepted, heading straight for Lilly instead, but she was much too quick and returned the hit with her own spike, sending it straight into the face of an opposing player.

"Goodness," Ariadne said, walking over to the young man. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he said. "Man, she hits hard."

"She _was_ a contender in the Vytal Festival Tournament, after all."

"Good game, guys!" Lilly said, bumping fists with her opponents before meeting with her group. "Hey, let's go rent some jet skis."

"You really wanna go all out, don't you?" Perseus said.

"Well, duh. Who knows when I'll fall into another coma?"

The two boys stiffened.

"I don't think they find your joke funny," Ariadne said.

"It wasn't supposed to be a joke," Lilly said with a straight face, holding the scowl for a moment before beaming again. "I'll go get some from Helen!"

"I'll come with you," Demetri said.

"You gonna be my knight in black armor?" she said with a smile.

"If that is what you need me to be, then yes."

"You know that spot is already taken, don't you?"

"I wouldn't dare try and replace your knight, but I would not mind being your second."

"I don't mind either."

He gave her a small bow before following after her.

"I think your friend is falling for the girl in the red bikini," Ariadne said, pushing up her eyeglasses.

"I barely know what the guy is thinking half the time, but sure, I guess," Perseus said. "She is kinda scary lately, isn't she?"

"I-I'm not scared of her!"

"You sure about that?"

She growled.

"Honestly, I'm kinda scared myself."

"But you're not the target of her incessant half-joking, half-serious threats!"

That wasn't what he was referring to, though. He and Demetri still weren't ready to share that bit of terrifying information about their friend. But if anyone could make sense of the situation, it might be Ariadne. She was the family's science expert, after all, especially in the field of theoretical physics and the growing field of Thaumatology.

"Hey," he said, facing her.

"Huh?"

"Can I trust you with a secret?"

"Since when have you known me to be a blab?"

"Okay, so, that day, when Lilly passed out, Demetri and I weren't exactly a hundred percent forthcoming with everything."

"What do you mean?"

"All that crap that happened at Mount Horeb High School, it wasn't all just some random magic stuff. It was Lilly herself."

She stared at her brother intently.

"Those five kids who suffered those random effects, and the one kid who disappeared, Lilly did it all. Intentionally, I mean. She...I don't know exactly, but she used some kind of magic to do stuff to them, like the one who went blind, the one who went deaf, and the one who went into a depression. And the last one who disappeared, I have no idea what she did, but a massive...rune thing appeared on the ceiling and it...dragged him in."

"A rune?"

He nodded.

"What did it look like?"

Perseus hesitated before holding up his left hand to show her the image on the back. She closely examined the image of the scales in balance and the closed eye at the top of the center post.

"This isn't like any of the others," Ariadne said, repositioning her eyeglasses. "All of her runes consist of geometric arrangements and runic text, but this has none of that at all. Are you sure this is what she summoned?"

He nodded. "She called it the Rune of Atonement, I think. After she was done with it, this appeared on my hand."

"Have you been able to do anything with it?"

"You mean like what Lilly can do?"

"Yes."

"Not that I know how to, but it hasn't done anything on its own, if that's what you're asking."

"I see. It is possible that you may be a kind of placeholder for it. Still, what a strange rune. It is unlike any of the others."

Perseus recalled the other events on that day, the voice that haunted him as he shifted between the real world and the Labyrinth. It seemed to come from within, yet from outside all at once. And it wasn't so much a voice as it was a sensation that reverberated throughout his entire body.

_Perseus..._

He looked around. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him other than his sister.

"What's the matter?" Ariadne asked him.

"Nothing. Just, checkin' out the crowd, that's all."

"Oh. From the way you scanned everyone just now, it was as though you were looking for something in particular. Or some _one_."

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Perseus, what else happened that day?"

His hand twitched, the one that bore the Rune of Atonement on the back. "I...I don't know."

"Tell me what you do know."

"Just that...I guess, it's like, I kept phasing between this world and the Labyrinth."

"Do you have magic?"

"Do I _look_ like I have magic?"

"I just want to cover all of our bases here."

"No, I don't. But whatever it was that Lilly did, maybe _that_ has something to do with it. I can't fully describe to you what the Rune of Atonement did on that day, but we were all forced to our knees the moment it appeared, all of us except Lilly. She was floating in the air and shit. But me and Demetri, and everybody else in the room, none of us could move from the pressure that, I guess the rune was exerting. And I'm pretty sure the entire school and I'm guessing part of the city was also affected because people were running around in a panic."

"That and the fact that you were crossing between this world and the Labyrinth."

"Yeah, I guess."

"I see."

"Ariadne, is it okay if you keep this to yourself for now?"

"Don't worry, brother. I don't intend to let anyone know that Lilly might be responsible for cursing people. I won't bring anything up about your new tattoo either."

"Thanks. I hope all of that helps."

"It might. Honestly, though, it's magic we're dealing with here. I'm pretty sure only Professor Ozpin knows anything about any of this, and even then, this is magic from another world, not ours."

 

* * * * *

 

"Dr. Cherenkov, all of the Rift Engines are ready for routine testing."

"Excellent. Go ahead and fire them."

"Firing Rift Engines at twenty-five percent power."

"All systems are nominal, sir."

"Uh, this is Rift Engine Three, reporting a small anomaly, but it's..."

"Station Three, come in, what's your status?"

"The anomaly is gone. Was it even there to begin with? Maybe I was seeing things."

"Continue with diagnostics. We'll move on to maintenance phase as soon as—"

"Whoa."

"What's going on?"

"Uh, this is Station Four, we're seeing some major fluctuations with—wait a minute, this isn't right."

"Station Five to Central. Our Rift Engine has increased power."

"Station Six, reporting an unscheduled power increase as well."

"Dr. Cherenkov, what do we do?"

"Try and shut down main power."

"Station Two, reporting power surge."

"Station Four, we're not seeing any changes."

"What's happening? Sir, all Rift Engines are at maximum power!"

"Controls aren't responding!"

"Space-time distortion detected at the resonance convergence point!"

"Shut it down!"

"Can't shut down! Nothing's responding!"

"What the hell is going on, dammit!"

"Drop the dome! Now! Seal the center!"

 

* * * * *

 

"Finally," Perseus said as Lilly and Demetri rejoined him and Ariadne. "Did you guys get the jet skis?"

"They're out, dammit," Lilly sighed. "But, I did get us a speedboat."

"You wh-what? Wait, I forgot your family has more money than _us_."

"We also rented some wakeboards," Demetri said.

"First!" Lilly said, throwing her fist in the air.

"I'll drive, then," Demetri said.

Lilly giggled before tugging him by the arm to the pier.

"Do you think he likes her?" Ariadne said as she and her brother followed after the duo.

"Nah, he's in love with Ivory," Perseus said. "I don't get how, though. She's evil."

Ariadne stifled a chuckle. "That's quite a strong word to use to describe someone, don't you think?"

"Did you watch the tournament match between Team LILY and Team IVRY?"

"Oh, the one that had the potential to collapse the entire Amity Arena?"

"Understatement of the year."

"I'd say she was complimenting Lilly more than anything. After all, you would only hold back against an opponent if you thought they weren't worthy of your best effort. Don't you think?"

"The hell? You're not even a warrior type. Since when did you think like this?"

"I may not be a warrior type, but I do a lot of reading, you know."

"Oh, right, all those novels and mangas."

"You know you pronounced that incorrectly."

"Whatever."

As per her declaration, Lilly was the first on the wakeboard. Perseus and Ariadne watched her as Demetri tended to the boat. Their companion seemed to enjoy herself as she hit wave after wave, performing barrel rolls and other stunts.

"I never figured her to be the sporty type," Ariadne said as the boat slowed to a standstill.

"Well, she _has_ been different lately," Perseus said.

"Good point.

"All right, is it Ariadne's turn?" Lilly said, boarding the boat.

"N-No thank you," Ariadne said.

"You're no fun!"

"I barely know how to swim."

"It's okay, I'll rescue you before you drown!"

"Th-That's not the point!"

"Demetri, I'll take the wheel," Perseus said.

"You know how to drive one of these?" Demetri said.

"My family _does_ own this resort, you know."

"Very well, then."

Lilly relaxed herself with Ariadne, cheering Demetri on as he hit the waves, his form perfect.

"It's so obvious he's from Atlas," Lilly said. "He's stiffer than the board he's standing on."

"I suppose it comes with being the son of the country's general," Ariadne said, wiping some spray from her eyeglasses.

"Yeah! You go, Demetri!"

Perseus checked on his companions in his rearview mirror. Ariadne wasn't one to spend much time outdoors, but from the look on her face, she seemed to enjoy herself. Lilly clearly was in high spirits from the way she repeatedly jumped up and down in spite of the boat's unsteadiness on the waves.

In a way, this new Lilly wasn't so bad, though there were plenty of things about her that were beyond unsettling. There was a sinister air about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps this was the direct result of her constant forays into the Labyrinth. But in spite of the looming darkness, something about her remained pure in a way.

Lilly cheered as Demetri hit a wave and performed a flip in the air. She turned to Ariadne and gave her a high five.

"So, you gonna hit the waves, too?" she said.

"I'm trying not to die before I can start my first quarter at Shade, thanks," she said nervously.

"You're no fun."

"I'm serious."

Lilly chuckled as she pulled Demetri back onto the deck.

"You guys wanna just kick it out here for a while?" Perseus said, joining the others in the back of the speedboat.

"Let's head back to the beach," Lilly said. "There's supposed to be a rave going on, right?"

"You rave?"

"No, but you only live once, right?"

"Then, I shall accompany you," Demetri said.

She grinned before leaning against him.

"I think I'll hang out with our cousins," Ariadne said.

"Quit being such a bore," Lilly sighed.

"She _has_ had more time outside today than the rest of her life combined," Perseus said. "I'll join you and Demetri, though."

"It's always nice to have two handsome, strapping guys take me out," Lilly said with a snicker, turning to Ariadne. "You okay with me stealing your brother away for a while?"

"I don't mind at all," she said.

"Awesome!"

 

* * * * *

 

It was sunset when the beach party began. Ariadne had made good on her promise to hang out with Helen instead of the trio, leaving Lilly with Perseus and Demetri. Dionysus also showed up at the beach, not one to miss out on festivities, whether at Shade Academy or at the lake resort his family owned and operated.

"Lookin' good!" Dionysus said, eyeing Lilly's red two-piece.

"Hey, DJ!" she said. "You're lookin' pretty hot yourself!"

"Weren't you guys hanging out with my sister?"

"Yeah, she decided to be a buster and go with Helen instead."

"Those two always did get along better with each other than anyone else. Anyway, you wanna join the rest of us?"

"Sure!"

As Lilly mingled with Dionysus and his friends, Perseus and Demetri kept their distance. The latter periodically scanned the environment for any threats while Perseus spent the time ruminating.

"What do you think is happening with her?" Perseus said.

"Hmm?" Demetri said, turning to his companion. "You mean Lilly?"

"Yeah. Think it was the stress?"

"I honestly don't know. You've said it yourself. She has magic. Perhaps what we are witnessing is related to that somewhat. Besides, this didn't start today. That girl we watched curse those students could not have been the Lilly we've come to know."

"That's the thing, though. I'm sure we'd all like to believe that Lilly would never go that far, but she puts so much weight on her shoulders. Anyone's capable of anything if you push them far enough."

"Do you plan on returning to Beacon Academy after the summer is over?"

"Way to change the subject, dude."

"I apologize."

"I dunno. I can't bring Lilly back the way she is, but I can't just abandon my team either."

"At least you have a team to abandon."

Perseus turned to Demetri. His face showed no emotion on the outside, but he was certain that he was holding it all in. That was his team, after all. If his bond with Team PDTR was anything like the bond Perseus shared with Team APEX, losing them in such a horrific manner could not have been easy to ignore.

"You wanna talk about it?" Perseus asked.

"I would," Demetri began, "but what is there to talk about? It isn't as though we had a chance with this whole Labyrinth thing to begin with. Lilly's the only one capable of not being outright killed by the forces in that other world."

"How are you coping, though?"

"I'm trying. It's quite difficult not having any closure, but at the same time, I don't know if I want to know of their fates in that other world, having seen glimpses of it for myself. If I do run into them, I will be the one to end their suffering."

Perseus was going to respond when his scroll rang. He looked at the screen. It was Giovanni. He picked up, turning away from the loud music.

"Hey, Gio, what's—"

"Young master, you must return to the manor immediately," Giovanni said in a near-panic.

"Slow down, Gio, what's happening?"

"Everyone in the manor is missing."

"Missing?"

"Yes. I went out on an errand the master sent me for and when I returned home, the entire building was empty."

"Okay, I'm on my way."

"Is something the matter?" Demetri asked as his companion hung up his scroll.

"Emergency back home," Perseus said, heading toward his brother. "C'mon."

"Hey, what's up?" Dionysus interrupted his conversation with Lilly to greet his brother. "Finally decided to join the party?"

"I just got a call from Gio," Perseus said quietly. "Everyone at the manor is missing."

"What do you mean missing?"

"As in everyone's vanished."

"As in, Labyrinth style?"

"No clue, but if I had to guess, my money would be on that."

"What's up?" Lilly said, joining the conversation.

"Hey, do you think you could come back home with us?" Dionysus asked her.

She grinned. "It's a little early for that, isn't it?"

He grinned back. "It's never too early."

"I'll go get Ariadne and Helen," Perseus said, heading off.

 

* * * * *

 

"Nothing on your end?" Perseus asked Helen as he drove their car through the night.

"Your mom's not answering," she said.

"Neither is father," Ariadne said.

"Orion," Dionysus said into his scroll. "Yeah, it's me, DJ. Oh, so you've heard? Okay, yeah, Gio called us, too. Are you at the manor right now? We'll be there in about ten minutes. Yeah, she's here with us. Everybody else is here. I think it's only mom, dad, and some of the other guys at the house missing. No, I don't mean _it's only mom and dad_ , I'm saying that the rest of us are fine. Ariadne's sitting right next to me and so is Helen and Perseus. Okay, we'll see you there."

"What's up?" Perseus asked.

"Eyes on the road, bro. Anyway, Orion's at the house with Gio right now. They went through every room and shit and there's no sign of anybody, no mom and dad, no maids and servants, hell, even the gardeners are missing. From the looks of things, everyone just vanished into thin air."

"The Labyrinth," Ariadne said quietly.

Perseus parked the car beside Orion and Giovanni and everyone disembarked all at once.

"It's good to see you up and about," Orion said to Lilly. "Are you feeling all right?"

She yawned. "Kinda tired from all the running around the city," she said. "But yeah, I'm good."

"Dr. Cherenkov isn't answering," Ariadne said as the whole group convened together.

"Do you think something went on at the lab?" Perseus asked her.

"I don't know. The experiments in the Rift Complex are very precise, but there has always been a fear of a runaway event that causes local space-time to destabilize unpredictably."

"And you think this may be what has happened here?" Orion said.

"There's no way to be sure. Only the equipment at the lab can tell us what we need to know."

"Let's get to Shade Academy, then."

"We should split up," Perseus said. "Some of us go to the Academy with Ariadne. Everybody else, try and find clues here."

"I will accompany Ariadne," Orion said.

"I'll go with you," Dionysus said.

"I should get back to the resort to update my mom on what's going on," Helen said.

"Giovanni, could you escort her?" Orion said.

"I will do so, master Orion," the butler said.

"Thank you. Perseus, Demetri, Lilly, I'm assuming you'll stay at the manor?"

"Yeah," Perseus said. "I know you guys've combed the place already, but I wanna get a look at stuff here, too."

"Let us know if anything happens."

"We'll keep in contact through our scrolls," Demetri said.

Perseus watched as the group separated. He turned to Lilly when everyone was gone.

"Are you sensing anything?" he asked her.

"Hmm?"

"Anything magical, I mean."

She shrugged.

"Lilly, c'mon."

"Look, none of this any of my business."

Her words left him stupefied.

"What do you mean by that?" Demetri asked.

"I'm not going back into that hell ever again," she said resolutely.

"But Perseus's parents are in there."

"Shit happens."

Perseus stared at his companion for a bit. If there was any doubt before, it was gone now. This girl standing in front him so apathetically was most certainly not the same girl he had come to know, the girl who would not hesitate to dive into the jaws of death itself to save even one soul.

"Lilly," he said quietly.

"I just—" Lilly began before bringing her hands to her head in pain. "Goddammit! No! Not now!"

"What's the matter?" Demetri said.

Lilly screamed, writhing in pain before floating stiffly in the air, her entire body covered with runic markings that glowed with intense white light. The same markings extended themselves to the environment, covering the entire courtyard before disappearing. She fell to the ground, lying completely still.

"What the hell just happened?" Perseus said as he and Demetri checked on their companion.


	36. Daybreak

CHAPTER XXXVI

_Daybreak_

 

"Good morning, mom!" Lilly greeted Weiss as the latter prepared some breakfast for them.

"Good morning, Lilly," Weiss said, giving her daughter a smile.

"Dad! You're home early!"

"Yes, short night at work," he said. "What are you doing up so early? You're never awake before noon on a Saturday."

"Psh, I don't sleep in _that_ late."

"I'm guessing you didn't keep her up all night with that videogame you two have been playing," Weiss said, preparing the table for breakfast.

"I deny all such accusations, thank you," Lilly's father said.

"Yeah, I dunno what you're talkin' about either, mom!" Lilly said.

"What do you two think about heading to the park for a picnic today?"

"You're not gonna get some sleep first, dear?" Weiss said.

"Well, maybe a short nap, but afterwards, why not?"

"Must've been a really easy night at work."

"It was quiet, actually."

 _Lilly_...

"Huh?" Lilly said, turning to her right. There was no one there.

"Are you hearing things again?" Weiss asked her.

"Oh, no, I was just..."

_Lilly..._

The voice was coming from her room. She stood up to follow the sound, ending up in front of her mirror. She gazed at her reflection for a minute before brushing her long, snow-white hair. It was a nice day today. Dad was home, mom was happy, everything was as it should be. Why, then, was Lilly so unsettled? Everything was perfect, wasn't it?

She looked to her left, as though she was missing something, but she couldn't put her finger on what might be missing.

_Help me, please!_

She gasped, turning around. No one was there, but the feeling was intense. There was something she desperately needed to do. This idyllic life wasn't where she belonged, even though she never wanted to leave her mother and father. She threw on a pair of blue jeans and a navy blue t-shirt before heading to the living room. Something was strange about her parents. She could swear that she didn't recognize their faces. It wasn't so much that they were blurred out or anything; her eyes were just fine.

"What's wrong?" her father's voice sounded from far away.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" her mother's muffled voice floated to her ears.

She continued to stare as her surroundings began to melt away. She found herself in a void of washed-out hues and undefined features. A sharp pain struck her in the side and she winced, putting a hand to the spot. It was warm and wet. Was she bleeding?

_Lilly!_

Everything was beginning to fade into darkness. Her head filled with a muffled whine, but at the back of it all was a voice calling out her name over and over again.

"Lilly!"

Lilly opened her eyes. She was in the middle of the most decrepit building she had ever seen. No, she had seen much worse than this, but right now it was the stench that got to her. She glanced around, her vision still blurry. From what she could tell, she was in a meat factory, one that was far beyond industry standards by this point. The walls were mostly gone, but that didn't stop the foul odor from assaulting her nose.

"Lilly!"

She turned to the sound of the voice. The face was familiar, but something about her was off. She wasn't dressed in the typical outdoor hunting attire she had come to be known for. Rather, she was clad all in black with purple trim here and there.

"Hey, you're finally awake."

"What...?" Lilly managed. "Where...?"

"Don't move. You're really badly hurt."

"Echo?"

"Yeah, it's me. And the rest of the team, of course."

Lilly glanced around. There were familiar faces in combat all around her, fighting against hordes and hordes of Corrupted and Grimm that she had never seen before. Athena was the easiest to spot with her shield and spear. Perseus fought alongside her with his own shield and sword.

"Perseus?" Lilly mumbled. "How is he here?"

"It's a long story," Echo said. "One that you still have to live out for yourself."

"What?"

"What month is it where you're at?"

"What the heck do you mean by that?"

"Is it still summer?"

"Yeah, we're at the end of summer break. I think the fall quarter is gonna start in, like, a few days, right?"

"Okay, sounds about right."

"Huh?"

"Where we're from right now, winter just ended."

"What?"

"So, the time discrepancy in the Labyrinth can be this bad, huh?"

"We're in a Labyrinth?"

"Yeah," Ingrid said as she came upon them. "You were wandering around when we got to you. You didn't seem to see anything, not even the Corrupted. Funny thing is they didn't do anything to attack either. They were kinda just gathered around."

"Huh?"

"I think we should probably not overload her brain right now," Echo said.

"Hey, what's with all those weapons?" Lilly said, eyeing Echo's new bow and Ingrid's new staff weapon.

"Long story," Ingrid said. "Let's get you up and back to the real world so you can catch up to us. Dude, it's so weird being the ones to help out the one who's been saving us all this time."

"What are you..." Lilly began before realizing that she must have been talking in past tense about something that she had yet to even do. "Oh, this time thing is really messy."

"No kidding," Echo said.

"Echo!" Athena yelled to her. "Nuke 'em! Now!"

Without a word, Echo nocked an arrow, which began to glow. She let the projectile soar at the massive ogre in the distance, obliterating it from existence.

"Whoa!" Lilly yelled at the sight of the explosion Echo's arrow had generated.

"I'm never gonna get used to you being so surprised at all this," Echo said.

The fight was far from over, though. From the remains of the massive beast came pouring out every manner of Grimm and Corrupted.

"I've...never seen anything like that before," Lilly said. "And I've seen a lot in the Labyrinth."

"Figures," Ingrid said. "Don't worry about all this crap."

"Yeah," Echo said as she and Ingrid stood between Lilly and the monsters. "Leave this to us. You've saved us all enough times. It's our turn."

"I still don't know what you guys are talking about," Lilly said.

Ingrid chuckled. "You'll get there eventually."

"Now, do you know how to get back to the real world?" Echo asked.

"I, uh, I don't know, actually," Lilly said.

Echo and Ingrid exchanged glances.

"But you've been doing it at will since—" Ingrid began, but Echo silenced her with an elbow to the side. "What I mean is, you should be able to use a rune to get you back to the real world."

Lilly looked at the ground. While that might be true, she had no idea which rune it would be.

"I just," she began, "I have no idea how to control any of these powers. Most of them activate just by luck. The more complicated stuff, the ones that really require serious spell work, I have no idea how to use them."

"How've you been moving between the worlds, then?" Echo asked her.

She shrugged. "I've only ever done it by instinct, and only at places where the veil was thinnest. Never at will and never just anywhere."

"Try that, then. Just by instinct."

She tried, but nothing happened.

"You know, something's different about this, too," Ingrid said.

"What do you mean?" Lilly said.

"Just that you're not quite...you, I guess."

"You sense it, too?" Echo said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lilly said.

"There's something different about you. Like, a part of you is missing. Sorta feels like a shadow."

"Yeah, but not quite," Ingrid said. "Those people we've saved from personal Labyrinths have been very clearly not themselves. Their eye color is totally different, too, like, an unnatural glowing kinda thing."

"But your eyes are regular hazel, like they've always been," Echo said. "But still, there's something about you."

"Are you sure you aren't still crushing on her?" Ingrid said, her hand on her waist.

"Dude," Echo said, reddening. "You know Athena and I are officially together now."

"Wait, what?" Lilly said. "You two officially sealed the deal?"

"It happened a few months ago, when we saved my home village."

"Guys," Xanthus said, joining them. "If we interact with her too much, it might cause a time paradox."

"We've already got a paradox going on right now," Yuan said. "Besides, we haven't seen her in a long time. I'd like to spend a few more minutes with my team leader, you know."

"How long has it been?" Lilly asked.

"Months," Ingrid said.

"M-Months?"

"Yeah. A certain someone has been missing you, you know."

Lilly turned to the distance, where a young man in black and red mowed through hordes of Grimm and Corrupted with a scythe. His weapon looked a bit different from before, much more fantastical in appearance compared to its original mechanical form.

"Why does everyone look so different?" Lilly said. "Did you all upgrade your weapons?"

"Pretty sure we upgraded more than that," Athena said, holding a hand out. " _Teufelsatem_!"

Lilly watched with her mouth open as a fireball flew from Athena's hand, setting an Alpha Beowolf ablaze.

"D-Did you just—"

"Oh, man, it's awesome seeing _you_ so surprised," Athena said. "It's been the other way around for so long."

"Guys!" Xanthus yelled. "We need to send her back!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ingrid said. "How do we do this?"

Lilly looked down at the ground. She had no idea what to do to get back to the real world, not without stepping into a rift first, but something was different this time. She wasn't quite herself, not fully.

"We might be able to channel our magic through her and open a gate," Yuan said.

"You all have magic?" Lilly yelled.

"Long story," Ingrid said. "Like I said."

"It will take all seven of us to do it," Xanthus said, pushing up his glasses. "I don't know if it will work either."

"How do we keep all these Corrupted and Grimm off of us while we do it, though?"

"Leave that to me," Echo said, aiming a single arrow skyward. The one arrow turned into hundreds before raining down on their enemies all around them. "Leon, let's go!"

The final group member arrived once the battlefield went quiet, albeit temporarily. He gave his team leader a smile, getting one from her in return.

"We've missed you, you know," he said.

"He's missed you more than anyone else," Yuan said.

"C'mon, man."

Lilly giggled.

"Okay, let's see if it'll work," Xanthus said, reaching out to either side to lock hands with the rest of the group.

All seven formed a circle around Lilly, channeling their magical energy around. Lilly closed her eyes as the power began to flow through her. She looked at her hands as runic text and geometric arrangements glowed all over her flesh. She caught a glimpse of Perseus, her mind instantly filling with a sense of urgency.

"Yeah, you know what to do," he said.

"I have to get back," she said.

"Yup. I need your help now more than ever."

"I won't let you down."

"I know. By the way."

"Huh?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself, okay?"

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly gasped deeply as she awoke on a lawn in the middle of night.

"Lilly?" Perseus said.

"Are you all right?" Demetri asked her.

"Perseus, Demetri," she said. "What...what's going on?"

"Do you remember anything from the past three days?"

"Three...days?"

She looked at both of her companions before turning back to the ground. They said three days, but the past however long it was felt a lot longer than three days. She could have sworn that those peaceful days with her mother and father were years in length.

Whatever it was she had just gone through, it was more than mere illusion. It was a reality that was denied by the flow of time, a reality that existed only in Lilly's memories now.

"I'm guessing you're yourself again?" Perseus said.

"Myself?" she said.

"You were right, Demetri. The Lilly we've been hanging out with this whole day wasn't Lilly at all."

"You mean, I've been awake all this time?"

"It wasn't completely you," Demetri said. "Perhaps I would say that it was a form of you without any inhibitions and without your kindness."

An image of her hateful self she had seen in the mirror more than once flashed before her eyes.

"There are more urgent matters, though. Perseus's parents have vanished, likely drawn into a Labyrinth."

She turned to Perseus, who nodded.

"I..." she began as she caught a glimpse of a faint memory of a conversation she never had. Apathy couldn't even begin to describe her treatment of Perseus's cries for help just moments ago. She looked at her companion. The hurt was still fresh in his eyes, but he tried his best not to let it show.

"I can sense it," she said. "There's a rift nearby."

"Where?" Perseus asked.

She pointed to the manor. "Right over there. But something is different this time. It's not our usual rift."

"What do you mean?" Demetri asked.

"I can't explain it."

The two boys followed her to the house. As soon as they stepped in, all three felt an incredible weight press down upon them.

"This is just like three days ago," Demetri said.

Lilly was quiet as she approached the center of the phenomenon. There were no words for what she was sensing now, but it was as though she knew exactly what it was that made her hair stand on end. There was an enormous amount of magic flowing through this place tonight. It was no surprise that this phenomenon would create a rift large enough to draw an entire building's worth of people into the Labyrinth. What she needed to know was what exactly caused this thing to form.

She stood at the very center of the flow of magical energy. Subtle pulses emanated intermittently from her body and the thing beneath her feet. She could see a faint glow of some kind of pattern. It wasn't quite a rune circle, but it was similar. The images were much larger and more intense, however.

"Whoa," Perseus said.

"L-Lilly?" Demetri said.

"Huh?" she said, turning to them.

"Y-You're..."

She looked at her hands. All over her flesh, the same markings appeared, glowing with power.

"Oh, shit!" Perseus said, looking at the back of his left hand. The Rune of Atonement also glowed, as if in response to the rest of the magical phenomena filling the whole room.

"What's happening?" Demetri said.

"I don't know," Lilly said as she began floating in the air. "Wait, this is..."

The two boys turned to her.

"I think this is what's called...a Nexus."

"Nexus?" Demetri said.

"I'm still not sure...what it is, but...there's a lot of magical energy flowing through here."

Their surroundings flashed, instantly transitioning to a dark, decrepit form. They were already in the third layer of the Labyrinth, complete with monsters surrounding them.

"Crap!" Perseus yelled, deploying his shield and drawing his sword before engaging the Corrupted. Demetri fought alongside him, gauntlets fully loaded with Dust and ready for action.

Being creatures born from magic, the Corrupted were much more difficult to deal with compared to the Grimm. They also fought with far different attack patterns, ranging from smart and almost human-like despite oftentimes being almost as mindless as the Grimm. But the most disturbing feature they had was their extreme similarity to humans, though that fact became less and less of a bother the more the group encountered them.

"Whoa, is that a fireball?" Perseus said as one of the Corrupted hurled some flames at him.

"Some of the Corrupted are capable of using magic," Lilly said, standing between her two companions. "Their numbers are mostly quite few, but in the deepest layers of the Labyrinth, there are a lot of them. Be careful of the other monsters, though, the ones that look like things from another world."

"Like the ogres?" Demetri said.

"Yeah. Those are totally capable of using magic and they're really tough to boot."

"Lilly, I know you said before that you don't want us going through the Labyrinth with you," Perseus began, "but this time it's my parents on the line. There's nothing you can do to stop me."

"I know. And I realize that I was wrong to refuse your help all this time. Still, until we can figure out a way to strengthen you guys, I don't want you fighting in the Labyrinth like I do."

"Hey, we're Beacon-trained. We're tougher than you might think."

She smiled. "Nice tattoo, by the way."

Perseus looked at the Rune of Atonement on the back of his left hand. Apparently, his companion hadn't noticed it glowing during all that magical activity earlier, but that was a story he and Demetri would save until later. The priority right now was saving his parents and whoever else they could rescue from this abominable place.


	37. Failure Is Not an Option

CHAPTER XXXVII

_Failure Is Not an Option_

 

"Okay, does this thing go here?" Perseus said, examining the puzzle piece as Demetri and Lilly held off the Corrupted and other monsters swarming the area. They were deep within the ancient ruins formed by the lowest layers of the Labyrinth and progress was blocked by puzzles of all sorts.

"I don't know!" Lilly said, pushing against a lesser ogre's sword. "Just try it!"

"Wait," Demetri said. "This is an ancient ruin, so be careful. You don't wanna trigger a complete collapse of the building."

"Oh, now you tell me," Perseus said as the ground began to rumble. He had already placed the tile they had found in the rest of the mural. "Let's hope that doesn't kill us all."

" _Frostatem_!" Lilly cried, projecting a blast of frigid air that froze her enemies ahead. Demetri didn't waste time smashing each and every ice statue with his gauntlets. "Nice work."

"Do you still have the energy to fight?" he asked her.

"Yeah. You don't have to worry about me. I've been through much worse than this. Although I have to say, this is a lot of Corrupted."

"Maybe the spawn rates are affected by the number of party members," Perseus said, to which both Lilly and Demetri sighed.

"You need to stop playing so many videogames," Demetri said.

"You know what. Hey, Lilly, can you buff me?"

"Buff?" she said.

"Yeah, you know, that thing you do with your magic that makes us stronger and stuff."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I just didn't think it was necessary since you two are actually doing really well. I was gonna save it for a tougher fight."

"Like right now?" Demetri said, pointing to a giant, armored beast emerging from the gate that Perseus had just opened.

"Oh, hell!" Perseus said, backing away toward the rest of his team.

"Perseus, you're _sure_ that was the right puzzle piece, right?"

"I don't friggin' know!"

"I think now's the time for some magic," Lilly said. " _Gehärtete Verteidigung_! _Stahlknöchel_!"

An earth rune appeared beneath everyone's feet, bathing the whole team with a brownish glow. The first spell increased the toughness of not only their auras, but also their physical bodies. The second spell boosted their offensive capabilities, granting each one greater swing strength and movement speed. It was enough to ensure victory against the two-story-tall giant they had released.

"I guess that thing was guarding the gate," Lilly said, hopping off of the giant monster's lifeless body. "Let's go, team!"

"We're short a member," Demetri said, following after Lilly.

"Hmm," Perseus mumbled. "Team PDL. Team DLP. Team DPL. Team PLD. LPD. LDP. I'm sorry, I got nothin'."

Lilly giggled.

"Clearly Lilly's name is first anyway," Demetri said. "There's no way she's _not_ our leader right now."

"Yeah, but none of those letter combos make any sense," Perseus said. "I mean, I guess PDL can be 'Pedal,' but we're not a team of bikers so that makes no sense."

"Hey, is there any reason your parents' Labyrinth would be an ancient ruin?" Lilly asked.

Perseus shrugged. "My mom's always been fascinated with ancient ruins. My dad, too, I guess. I mean, a lot of the Dust deposits that opened up twenty years ago were along ancient ruins, so that might be it."

"Huh. Well, it's a million times better than going through another gross building with blood everywhere."

"No kidding."

Demetri stopped the group at a corner, pressing himself up against the wall as he peeked around.

"Two armored Corrupted," he said quietly. "How do you want to approach this, team leader?"

Lilly scanned around. There were no other ways to go besides straight ahead. But wasting energy was not the smart thing to do. What would Athena do if she were here? How would she command her troops?

"Perseus, your Semblance is that super strength thing, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it saps the shit out of my aura," he said. "I barely use it because of that."

"Demetri, what's yours?"

"I have the ability to lower other people's inhibitions," he said.

"What the heck kind of Semblance is that?" Perseus said.

"He could use it in battle against other people," Lilly said, "making them more reckless and prone to making mistakes. Am I right?"

Demetri nodded. "That's precisely what I've used it for in the past."

"Does it work against Grimm?"

"Only against the older, more cautious ones. The younger ones are already reckless enough as it is and the effect is negligible."

"Try it against those Corrupted."

He looked at her and she shrugged. He had no idea if it would work against these abominations, but there was only one way to find out. He focused his Semblance on both of the Corrupted down the hall. Normally, his targets would have locked on to him and started attacking in a blind rage, but the effects on the Corrupted were far different. The one on the left broke down and began crying uncontrollably while the other descended into a burst of hysterical laughter.

"What the hell did you do to them?" Perseus said.

"I, uh, I just used my Semblance," Demetri said.

"Hmm," Lilly mumbled. "I see."

"What?" the two boys said together.

"The Corrupted are technically nothing more than representations of some of the worst trauma people experience. That's why some of them laugh and cry or scream."

"It's the way people cope with trauma," Demetri said.

"Yeah. And you using your Semblance to drop their inhibitions makes it impossible for them to control their emotions."

"Because they're practically the embodiment of whatever it is they represent."

"Yup."

"I mean," Perseus said, approaching the two Corrupted, "that's great and all, but I can't bring myself to kill something that's bawling its eyes out like this."

Lilly decapitated both Corrupted with Myrtenaster.

"Oh. Well, then. I guess that solves things."

"We don't have time to waste," Lilly said. "We need to find your parents."

Heeding her command, both boys continued on with her. Demetri picked up another artifact that might be useful down the line. Perseus did the same with a Dust crystal shaped into a statue of a regally dressed woman.

"A queen piece," Demetri said, eyeing the yellow figure. "And mine is a gear. What could this all mean?"

"It's a reference to chess," Lilly said as she led the way. "Perseus's dad probably sees the whole world as a chess board, being a leader of a mega-corporation. And the gear might be how his mom sees herself."

"That's impossible," Perseus said. "Mom has always been supportive of dad's business."

Lilly said no more. She didn't have it in her to break apart Perseus's illusions of his home life. But his flight from home to attend Beacon Academy instead of Shade told her that he probably knew, at least on a subconscious level, that home wasn't entirely idyllic. His mother's current work in real estate must have been a recent development. She deduced that the family's early history might have been fraught with his father being domineering rather than the loving man he had come to be.

"That's why this place is a temple," she mumbled.

"Hmm?" Demetri said.

She looked over at her companions. Perseus was ahead of the group, keeping his eyes peeled for enemies.

"This place," Lilly began, "instead of the family manor, it's an ancient temple ruins, right?"

"Yes," Demetri said. "You said before that the personal Labyrinths tend to be manifestations of what the physical place represents, right?"

She nodded. "Perseus mentioned before that the family didn't start off at the mansion. They used to live with everyone else. But from the way their home has been built and how they treat the place, I'd say his parents must see it as a kind of temple. Their money has separated them from the masses and now it's a place to worship success."

"Even his mother sees it that way? Despite this?" He held up the gear piece and the queen statue.

"Possibly. After all, she's reaped what her husband has sown as well."

"So, she's happy to have been a cog in the machine, a piece on his chessboard."

"Maybe. Some people find fulfillment in playing a small role in a larger picture."

"A single thread in a tapestry can make the whole image fall apart if removed."

"Yeah. I'd say she was pretty central in making the company what it is now, even if she's suffered for it in the past."

"She thinks it was all worth it."

"I'd like to hope so."

"Hey, guys," Perseus began, "it would be cool if you could stop gossiping about my family, thanks."

"S-Sorry," Lilly said.

"Also, I think we've got something here."

They stepped into another large chamber. More murals and altars lined the walls.

"I think this goes here," Demetri said, walking up to a massive wall sculpture of random machinery. There was a single gear missing from the whole image.

"And the queen piece obviously goes here," Perseus said, standing before a chess board filled with pieces carved out of Dust crystals. "Dad, is this really what you thought of the world?"

"It's not a bad thing, Perseus," Lilly said. "Your dad had to compete against the Schnee Dust Company. If he didn't do the things he did in the past, he might never have gotten anywhere."

"Thanks, but still. I knew a businessman could be cold and calculating. I guess I just didn't wanna see it that way."

"For what it's worth, I think your family's done a lot of good for the world. After all, the SDC's monopoly on Dust was ended. Also, you've improved relations with the Faunus by a lot."

"That's all just PR bullshit."

"No, I don't think so. Besides, that cold and calculating businessman you were talking about? I don't see it. The Kronos Jupiter I've come to know loves his family and would do anything for them. I think the partnership he's struck with Queen Blake Belladonna is genuine."

"I hope so. I'd hate to think my family had something to do with that incident that nearly killed her daughter."

Lilly bit her lower lip.

"I know we never found any proof either way, but I just can't—"

"Perseus, stop. That's enough. None of that is on you or your family."

"But—"

She walked right up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her soft, hazel eyes. There was that smile again. It was different from the old smile she used to have for everyone, but at least she was smiling again. The difference wasn't negative either. Rather than the old, pure smile she had for the world, this smile was filled with assurance. It was all he needed to regain a bit of his own confidence.

"Thanks," he said, managing his own smile.

"Now, let's get your mom and dad outta here!"

 

* * * * *

 

"Thank you for your help," Dr. Cherenkov said. "All of you."

"It was the least we could do," Orion said. "Besides, it's about time I put my brother to work around here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dionysus said.

"Ariadne, are you all right?"

"Yes, I am fine," she said, fixing her eyeglasses. "Where did those Grimm appear from anyway?"

"From the rift," Dr. Cherenkov said as he took a seat on a nearby chair. "At least, one of the rifts. We experienced a malfunction earlier today and the Rift Engines went out of control."

"Is that why you dropped the emergency containment dome?" Orion asked.

"Yes, but that had no effect. Rifts opened up everywhere, not just in the center of the rift chamber."

"And you said that Grimm came out of the rifts?" Dionysus said.

He nodded.

"That makes no sense," Ariadne said. "The Grimm are from our world, not from the Labyrinth."

"My hypothesis is that the rifts opened randomly, perhaps pulling Grimm from other places around Remnant."

"Is that possible?" Orion asked.

"Under normal circumstances, no. The Rift Engines are specifically calibrated for ingress into the Labyrinth, not other locations on our planet. But given the system-wide failure, anything is possible."

"Can the system be fixed?"

"In time, yes, but for now I think we should hold off on it. At least until we can figure out what might have caused the malfunction."

"Hey, does this mean anything?" Dionysus said, looking at a computer monitor.

"Please, brother," Ariadne said, getting in his way. "Try not to break anything."

"I wasn't even touching anything!"

"Hmm," she said, squinting through her glasses. "This is strange. The sensors picked up a massive space-time anomaly."

"Naturally," Orion said. "This whole lab just experienced a storm of rifts."

"No, not here." She turned to her brothers. "At the manor."

"Makes sense," Dr. Cherenkov said. "That's why everyone there was drawn into the Labyrinth."

"No, this is much different from the usual readings when a rift is formed. This is...look, Dr. Cherenkov."

He rolled his chair to join her at the monitor. "Incredible. These particles only lasted for a short time, but the energy is quite intense."

"It's the same as what Dr. Hillphire has published in his articles, isn't it?"

"Indeed. Whatever it was that happened to your home, it is intensely magical in nature."

 

* * * * *

 

"Is this...?" Perseus began.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "This is the core of this Labyrinth."

"Mom! Dad!"

"Wait, don't be too sudden."

"But..."

Lilly surveyed the giant chamber, which was in the form of a temple's inner sanctum arranged like an office room combined with a warehouse containing endless rows of boxes stacked up to the ceiling.

"Look closely," Lilly said. "Your parents don't notice us."

"What are they doing?" Demetri said.

Perseus's father appeared busy with something while his mother followed him without a single complaint.

"Something's different about this Labyrinth," Lilly said. It dawned on her that neither of Perseus's parents were chained to the world with those red tendrils. The reason must have been that it wasn't their alternative selves that were in this world.

"What's the matter?" Demetri asked her.

"This is the first time I've ever been in a Labyrinth where it's not the person's soul here," she began, "but their actual physical bodies."

"What do you mean?" Perseus said.

"Every other Labyrinth I've ever gone into, it's the person's soul that's stuck in this limbo. I free them and they return to their bodies in the real world free of whatever burdens they'd been carrying around. But this is different. That's not a mirror image of your mom and dad. That's _actually_ your mom and dad."

"What do we do, then?"

"Normally, there would be, uh, I guess what you would call a 'boss fight', usually a guardian that represents the trauma that the captive person harbors. But in this case, it's actually them, so..."

She walked forward. She tried to take hold of Perseus's mom, but she failed to notice at all the hand that was grasping her wrist.

"Wait, maybe I can..." She stepped back from both of them before pointing Myrtenaster in their direction. "Clarity Rune, I call upon your power. _Brechen Sie diese Illusion_!"

The rune she summoned appeared in the middle of the air centered at the tip of Myrtenaster, glowing gold before exerting its magic upon both of Perseus's parents, but neither of them could be freed from the delusion that this Labyrinth projected into their minds.

"Is this what it means to be lost in the Labyrinth?" Demetri said.

Lilly glanced at him. She figured he must have been thinking about his team, Paolo, Theo, and Raiden. They, too, were lost in their own respective Labyrinths, though what that meant to actual people trapped in this world, Lilly had yet to know.

She gasped as she finally remembered her own failure, that girl who had taken her own life after Lilly failed to save her soul from her Labyrinth. The despair that gripped her soul transferred across the veil into the real world, pushing her over the edge. What would happen if she failed this Labyrinth as well?

She was going to ponder the matter more when she realized that Perseus was standing right in front of his parents, watching them closely as they went about their delusion, which the rest of them could not perceive.

"I get it," he mumbled. "I get why you're both stuck in this infinite loop. We all have regrets, mom, dad. You both have stuff you wanted to do and ended up not doing, or stuff you did that you probably shouldn't have. But there's no point in regretting what we've done in the past. What's done is done and there's nothing we can do to undo that. And besides, it's not like we live a crappy life. Look where Orion is. He's probably gonna become the new headmaster of Shade Academy once Neptune moves on. DJ's enjoying life to the fullest because of what you guys have provided for us. And Ariadne's a brilliant scientist. A bit weird, but brilliant."

His parents seemed to slow down what they were doing, as though they could hear him, though it wasn't enough to break out of their delusion.

"I know I'm not everything I could be," Perseus continued. "I left and went to Beacon even though you wanted me to stay. Mostly, I guess, it was my way of leaving my own mark on the world. I dunno. I wanted to make you guys proud in my own way."

"Perseus...?"

He looked up at his mother, who had tears in her eyes. She was looking through him, but his voice seemed to reach her somewhat.

"You guys don't need to live with any regrets anymore," he continued. "You've done everything you thought was right for the family, for us. And thanks to all the sacrifices you've made, all four of us have the ability to change the world for the better."

"My son..." Kronos managed.

"Perseus, is that you?" Juno said.

"Mom? Dad?" Perseus said with tears in his eyes.

"What is...what is happening?" Kronos said.

Without answering, Perseus stepped forward, locking both of his parents in a tight embrace. He didn't let go for a long time, allowing his tears to fall freely. As he shared this space with them, he was able to fully absorb the regrets and pain that both of his parents harbored. For at least this moment, their pain was his to bear as well.

"Where in the world are we?" Juno said, looking around.

"Were we dreaming?" Kronos said.

"No," Lilly said to them. "That was no dream. What you were both experiencing was a fully fledged alternate reality created by the Labyrinth. It was very real, but thanks to Perseus's intervention, you've both broken out of it."

"So, this—" Kronos said before he was cut off by the entire structure rumbling.

"What's going on?" Demetri said.

"Crap!" Lilly said. "I forgot about this! Any time a Labyrinth is conquered, it begins to collapse!"

"C-Collapse?" Perseus said in a panic.

"Everyone, stick close to me!"

 

* * * * *

 

Taiyang Xiao Long was the only one in his group who didn't stand out so much in Vacuo. He knew how to blend in with the population a lot better than both of his companions. It was the reason he was the one out and about on most days, but at nighttime it was much easier for all of them to blend in. He glanced over at his daughter and son-in-law. They kept their distance from him as they mingled with the night crowd at this bar, mining for any information regarding the rumors of impending war between Vacuo and Atlas.

There was talk of a growing movement toward centralization and militarization, support for national security drummed up by the increasing belligerence by Atlas, especially after their increased tariffs against all imports from Vacuo.

Tai pulled out his scroll, looking at pictures of both of his daughters and his two grandchildren. He sighed to himself, recalling how his girls and their friends had participated in the previous war and put a stop to it. It seemed that his grandkids might have to do the same despite his wishes that they would never have to experience the hell of war.

He downed the rest of his bottle before leaving the bar and sitting in his truck. After ten minutes, his companions joined him and sat in the backseat.

"Find anything, dad?" Ruby said.

"Yeah," he said. "Support for war is rising. Fear's a powerful motivator, I guess. What about you two?"

"Same thing," Jaune said. "But there's something even more troubling. Apparently, Vacuo's had two towns go completely abandoned. Like, everyone just dropped everything they were doing and disappeared."

"Another incident?"

"That's what we're thinking," Ruby said. "Sis was talking about the same thing happening all around Mistral, right?"

"Yeah, and Winter said it's happened in Atlas, too."

"And Vale, and Menagerie," Jaune said.

"What in the world could be going on?" Ruby said.

"Either way, the fall quarter's about to start back home," Tai said. "We should be heading back soon."

"Let's take a shuttle back tomorrow, then," Jaune said. "Although, Ruby and I can stay. You're headmaster of Signal, so you can't exactly abandon your job."

"I guess," Tai said. "Do you two wanna stay out here and keep scouting?"

"I don't mind," Ruby said. "Besides, I've missed the whole adventure thing. Teaching is cool, but it's so _boring_."

The two men laughed.

"Okay, let's head back to the motel," Tai said. "We'll decide what we're doing tomorrow."

 

* * * * *

 

"We're not gonna make it!" Perseus said.

"Don't say things like that!" Demetri said.

"Not gonna happen on my watch!" Lilly yelled. " _Verbreite deine flügel und fliege durch den himmel_!"

The entire group found themselves with runes at their feet and they launched forward with incredible force. Perseus and his parents along with Demetri had barely escaped the crumbling of the temple ruins, but when they looked back, Lilly was nowhere to be seen.

"Lilly!" Perseus yelled. "Lilly! Where are you?"

Demetri looked around. Their leader was out of sight. Only rubble remained where the temple once stood.

"Goddammit, not when we just got you back!" Perseus cried out. "Lilly!"

A mound of debris exploded outward as a bright, white light shot skyward before heading in their direction. It wasn't until the object was near enough that they all recognized what it was. It was Lilly's knight.

Perseus and Demetri let out a heavy sigh of relief in unison as the knight touched down with Lilly in his arms. She hopped off, giving her knight a smile before turning to them.

"Whew, that was a close one!" she said.

"Young lady, you should be more careful," Juno said to her with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry! I had to put most of my magic into you guys to get you out of the building and I didn't have enough power for myself, but I guess things worked out!"

"What do you mean you didn't have enough for yourself?" Demetri said.

"I had just enough magic to propel the four of you out of the building before it fell."

"How did you get out, then?"

"Oh, well, when the temple fell apart around me, I didn't get smushed by the ceiling cuz I was in, like, I guess a void cuz of how the blocks of stone fell around me. After a second or two, my knight sorta just...I dunno, appeared? And he was the one who exploded everything and got me out of there."

"Are you saying," Perseus began, "that you did all that again without any concern for your own life?"

She didn't answer for a while. "Look, I failed that one time with that Faunus girl and she ended up killing herself but this time was different because it's you and your parents and I wasn't about to—"

She gasped as Perseus cut her off, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She could feel him trembling as he sobbed lightly, a few tears landing on her shoulder. She returned the embrace.

"I wish you'd stop being so damn reckless," he said quietly. "How do you think _we_ would feel if you had died saving our lives?"

"Sorry," she said. "I wasn't really thinking about that."

"I, for one," Demetri began as he stepped forward, "am eternally grateful."

She looked at him as Perseus let go of her.

"Lilly Schnee, if you would accept me, I would gladly be your knight."

"Huh?"

"My vow is to you and you alone, to serve you as you require."

"What is going on?" Perseus mumbled.

"Shh," Juno said. "Don't ruin the moment."

"Listen to your mother," Kronos said.

"D-Demetri, you don't have to—" Lilly began.

"Please, hear me out," he said. "You refuse to let anyone lend you their strength because you don't want anyone else coming to harm, and yet at the same time you put yourself in harm's way without any regard for how that might affect those you end up leaving behind. During the entire three days you were in a coma, people around you were deeply hurt. Perseus, in particular. My team is likely dead or worse, thanks to this Labyrinth. I, too, now have a vendetta against this thing and I would greatly appreciate it if you would not turn me down."

Lilly stared at the ground for a moment. Everything he said was true. Although her motivations were ostensibly selfless, her blatant disregard for her own safety was anything but. After all, what would her friends do if she ended up dead because of what she does?

What would her mother do?

"Demetri," she began, hesitating as the searched for the words. "I don't wanna see any of you get hurt. And this thing, this Labyrinth, it does more than inflict wounds on your body. It gnaws away at your soul."

"I'm aware of that," he said. "We all are. We see it happening to you."

"And you're okay with that happening to _you_?"

"No, I am not. But it's a small price to pay if it means protecting _your_ soul from complete erosion."

"He's not the only one, Lilly," Perseus said. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. You have so many allies. Don't push us aside."

"Lilly Schnee," Demetri said as he genuflected in front of her. "I, Demetri Sergei Casimir Holland, son of General Sergei Holland of Atlas, swear to be your knight, now until the day I draw my final breath."

Lilly looked over at Perseus, who had since knelt beside Demetri, his sword driven into the earth.

"Yeah, same," he said. "All that fancy stuff he just said."

Demetri had his head bowed. He was serious about his oath. She didn't want any harm to come to any of her friends, but Perseus was right. She had to stop pushing people away. After all, it would be rude for her to reject this oath that these two young men just swore by.

"Okay, then," she said. "I won't turn you away."

Demetri and Perseus rose to their feet before the former gave her a salute. Much to her surprise, her knight returned his salute.

"Oh," Perseus said. "He likes Demetri more than he likes me, huh?"

Lilly chuckled before projecting a rune beneath their feet. "Let's go home."


	38. Sunset Bridge

CHAPTER XXXVIII

_Sunset Bridge_

 

After determining that the manor was no longer safe to stay at, the Jupiter Family took up temporary residence at the dorms of Shade Academy. Orion, Neptune, Dr. Cherenkov, and the involved authorities cordoned off the entire estate to prevent any other incidents. Unfortunately, none of the staff were ever recovered. Perseus's parents were the only ones who made it out of the Labyrinth, all thanks to Lilly's intervention.

Before long, the end of summer vacation came and Perseus prepared to fly back to Vale to continue his training with his team. Lilly, however, decided to stay in Vacuo.

"But, I don't understand," Perseus said. "Your team needs you."

"I know," Lilly said. "But there are things that need to be done here. There's a Nexus in the middle of your living room and there are so many people that need to be saved from the Labyrinth."

"I can't go back without you."

"Sure you can. Your team's there."

"But _you_ won't be."

"Well, it's a good thing we didn't tell them I was coming out here with you, huh?"

He scoffed. "You think I'll be able to hide it from them?"

"I'm counting on you to do exactly that."

"You know this isn't cool, right? You need to let them know where you are."

"Not just yet. Not until I'm ready. Please, Perseus, keep it a secret?"

He sighed. "You know Leon is gonna flip, right?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

"If you think it was bad for me and the others while you were in a coma, just imagine how it will be for people who don't even know where you are."

"It'll only be for a while. I'll come back when I'm done with things here."

He looked at the Rune of Atonement on the back of his left hand.

"Oh, right, we should do something about that," Lilly said before placing her hand on the image. " _Was gesehen wird, Werden Sie unsichtbar_."

Perseus looked as she removed her hand. He could still see the rune.

"I made it invisible to everyone else, but you'll always be able to see it. The rune is a part of you and nothing can ever hide it from your sight."

"What is it, anyway?"

She turned to the side. That Primal Rune that etched itself into her friend's flesh was her greatest sin. "It's the Rune of Atonement," she answered. "I'm trusting you with its safekeeping, okay?"

He was going to mention that fateful day that she had unleashed this rune into the world, but he kept his mouth shut. From the look on her face, she was wracked with guilt over the incident. He figured that might have had something to do with why she opted to stay in Vacuo.

"Don't worry," Demetri said, stepping beside her. "I'm staying behind as well. I have no team left and she needs someone to look after her. Besides that, I swore an oath. It would be remiss of me to leave her behind after that."

"What the hell does that make me, then?" Perseus said. "I made the same oath."

"You're needed back home," Lilly said.

Perseus looked Lilly in the eye. He knew there was no changing her mind. "Don't be too long, okay?" he said to her.

She smiled. "I forgot to tell you," she said. "I saw you in the Labyrinth yesterday."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Time is all screwy in the deepest parts, remember?"

"Wait, you mean that, in the future, I'm gonna see the you of today?"

"Yesterday."

"...What the hell."

"Yeah, what the heck."

"Oh, thank goodness."

"Huh?"

"You said 'heck'."

"What exactly happened while I was unconscious?"

"I'll fill you in," Demetri said. "Also, be gentle with Ariadne. I believe she's still terrified of you."

Lilly's was incredulous. "Yeah, I _definitely_ need to stay."

"Take care of her, Demetri," Perseus said, shaking hands with him.

"Count on it," he said.

"You better say 'hi' to that ice queen of yours every now and then, too, man."

Demetri's otherwise steely composure was shaken for that instant and he felt his face flush.

"Yeah, bro, she's gonna be pissed if she finds out you're hanging out with her cousin instead of her."

"Perseus!" Lilly chuckled. "Look at him! You made him the color of Leon's hood!"

Perseus chuckled as he headed up the ramp to the shuttle. He turned to give his mother and father one last wave before disappearing into the cabin. He took a seat at the very front, where a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man shared the row with him.

"Hey, you're Athena's teammate, aren't you?" the man said.

Perseus turned to his neighbor. "Wait a minute," he said. "You're Athena's grandpa, right?"

Tai held out a hand and they shook. "Small world, heh. Summer break's over, huh?"

"Yeah," Perseus sighed. "Back to school."

"How was everything?"

"Good. Eventful. What were you doing out here?"

"I heard the lake resort was where it's at, so here I am. I didn't get sunburned, did I?"

"It's not showing if you did."

"Good. Can't have the kids make fun of me when I get back to school, too."

"Oh, right, you're Signal Academy's headmaster, aren't you?"

"Mm-hmm. Part of me thinks I shoulda stayed retired, though."

"And deprive the next generation of Huntsmen? No way."

Tai laughed. "My granddaughter says the same thing."

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly shielded her eyes from the sun as she watched the shuttle depart. She continued to watch until it was a mere dot in the sky.

"Are you ready to head back?" Demetri asked her.

"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath and letting it all out slowly. "Let's go join the others."

She and Demetri regrouped with the Jupiter Family. Juno gave her another hug, probably the third one of the hour.

"I can't thank you enough for what you've done for our family," Juno said to her.

"It was muffin, Mrs. J," Lilly said as the two walked to the family car side by side. "It kinda sucks that you can't stay in your own house anymore, though."

"Don't you apologize for that," Kronos said. "After all, you saved us from the Labyrinth. Staying at the dorms at Shade Academy is a small price to pay for us still being alive. Besides, Perseus told you of our humble beginnings, did he not?"

"He said you guys used to live with everyone else," Lilly said.

"Yup," Dionysus said, displacing Demetri and walking alongside her. "We used to be just ordinary Vacuo citizens until dad scored big with those new Dust veins that the big war twenty years ago opened up."

"Lilly," Orion said, "are you sure you want to continue with your work?"

"Yes," she said. "I stayed behind exactly for that."

"Dr. Cherenkov is ready for you if you really don't want to rest," Ariadne said. She pushed up her glasses before turning to Lilly. "Are you sure you don't want to take a day off?"

"The Corrupted don't take days off."

"You truly are an icon to be followed," Orion said. "I will go on ahead of all of you to get things started at the Rift Complex. Father, mother, please, stay in the city a while and enjoy yourselves with Lilly. You've been through quite the ordeal in the Labyrinth."

"Let's go get some ice cream, then!" Lilly said.

 

* * * * *

 

Lilly watched as her companions mingled with one another, reminiscing on the past month. When she first arrived, the welcome was incredibly warm, much like the weather today. It wasn't as hot as it normally was, likely a consequence of the events that unfolded recently. Demetri had filled her in on some of the details, that some of her activities had caused bizarre weather patterns, including three whole days of nonstop rain while she was unconscious following the disaster she had caused with the Rune of Atonement.

That day was still a blur for her. All she could remember was an intense feeling of hatred unlike anything she had ever felt. The only reason she had an idea of what happened was because of the fact that several of the students were suffering from blindness, deafness, and depression, and one went missing altogether. She figured she had something to do with it, but neither Demetri nor Perseus would share anything about it.

"Is there something that happened that I should know about?" Lilly asked Demetri.

His hand flinched. "Lilly—"

"Don't sugarcoat anything anymore. Tell me what happened. Tell me what I did after I failed that Labyrinth and that girl committed suicide."

He looked at her. "You remember that?"

"It came back to me last night just before I went to bed. Obviously I couldn't sleep after that."

He hesitated for a while. "You went to the high school that they attended. Apparently, you managed to research each of the people who were bullying that girl. I suppose it wasn't difficult since it was their faces on each of the monsters that guarded her Labyrinth. When you found out that they attended the same school, you went there. But, I don't know, it wasn't entirely you. I don't think so, anyway. There was something different about you. Also, the area surrounding the high school dropped in temperature, ten degrees cooler than the rest of the city."

"I did that?"

"No one knows, but if I were to guess, I'd say it's likely. Anyway, Perseus and I chased after you. He kept saying something about stopping you from doing the unthinkable. The whole time, he kept phasing back and forth between this world and the Labyrinth. When we got to the classroom, you had already cursed most of the students, the ones primarily responsible for the girl's suicide. But the last one, the ringleader, was defiant until the very end. You summoned that rune, the one that now rests on Perseus's left hand. It was floating in the air above you when you activated it."

When Demetri went quiet, Lilly became restless. "What happened next?"

"The rune itself pulled him in."

"Into where?"

"I doubt any of us can know the answer to that."

Although Lilly had requested this story from her companion, part of her already knew what had happened. Demetri was wrong about it not being her. That day, she was perfectly sane. It was her desire to bring justice to those bullies, but once all of the dust settled, it was clear to her that she had committed a grievous error, one greater than her failure to save that girl from her Labyrinth.

"The next three days after that, you spent in a coma," Demetri continued. "The rain didn't stop the entire time."

"Rain?" Lilly said.

"Yes. Perseus's parents say they haven't had rain like that in the middle of summer in forever. Ariadne hypothesizes that you had something to do with it. It didn't help that it stopped as soon as..."

"As soon as?"

"You don't remember waking up, do you?"

"I remember waking up in the middle of the manor courtyard, just before we went into Perseus's parents' Labyrinth to break them out."

"That whole day, we spent with you. Or, I suppose a different version of you. You weren't exactly yourself."

"Tell me everything."

"Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"I told you already, Demetri. Don't sugarcoat anything."

"In a sense, it was you, but not completely. She still had your personality for the most part, but it was as though...the reason we thought it was still you was because she was mostly you, just without any inhibitions. Like your id gone wild. But it wasn't until last night that we realized it couldn't have been you."

"What did I—I mean, what did she do?"

"When Perseus begged her for help getting his parents out of the Labyrinth, she refused, saying it had nothing to do with her."

Lilly looked at the table. She had a feeling that some dark, hidden part of her had begun to fight its way to the surface. That whole time she spent unconscious, she was in her own Labyrinth, one that kept her prisoner by granting her the idyllic life, a life with her mother and father in total peace. It took her far too long to stop running away from the real world and return to her body. Perseus's parents almost paid for her mistake with their lives.

"Was I really that hateful?" she mumbled.

Demetri shifted in his seat. "I don't know if I would choose the word 'hateful'. Maybe resentful, but part of me thinks that you can't exactly be blamed for it. After all, you've taken on so much for this world. If you were to ask me, I would say that you deserve some rest."

"Maybe. But you know I can't."

"I know. I've come to understand that after all this time. And what I told you before hasn't changed. I intend on following you through everything. I know I don't have the powers that you do, but if you're willing to extend your magic to me the way you did yesterday when we were in Juno and Kronos's Labyrinth, I will go into that world with you."

She sighed.

"Haven't you denied help for long enough?"

She didn't answer.

"Forgive me if I am out of line for speaking this way, but even Ivory knows when to call on help. I'm not sure where you've inherited this stubbornness of yours."

"Yeah, she's better than me at _everything_ —"

"That's enough of that, Lilly. Everyone's better than everyone else at some things. You're much more compassionate than Ivory, for starters. She might have a more refined tactical and strategic sense, but that's something you can work on. If you really wish to develop that, bring me with you into your incursions. You know I can help. Have I not proven that yesterday?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, Demetri. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that."

"No need to apologize. If you need a punching bag to relieve some of your pressure, that is what I am here for."

She smiled. "You're not trying to replace my knight, are you?"

"Of course not. I saw how he reacted to Perseus trying to see underneath his helmet. I sincerely doubt he would be more receptive of me trying to oust him."

She chuckled. "Okay, then, let's head to Shade Academy."

 

* * * * *

 

The repairs to the Rift Complex were swift, but evidence of the destruction caused by the sudden appearance of Grimm could not be so quickly erased. Fortunately, though, damage was minimal. After all, security personnel and Huntsmen, even students, knew how to deal with the Grimm. Had the rifts allowed Corrupted or those other alien creatures into this world, things might have been much different.

"Preparations are set," Orion said, walking to the duo. "Are you certain of this, Demetri?"

"I am," he said. "Also, worry not. I do not believe my father would blame you if anything happened to me in there. Not that he knows where I am to begin with."

"That wasn't my concern. You've proven yourself to be nothing like the hegemonic aristocracy of Atlas. As far as I am concerned, you're a friend to Vacuo."

"I thank you, Orion."

"'Kay, get your ruck, Demetri!" Lilly said, hooking the last of her backpack's straps. "And remember not to stray too far from me. My magic only works within a certain range and I don't want you getting lost in the Labyrinth."

"I won't," Demetri said, throwing his rucksack on and readying his gauntlets for combat.

Lilly led the way through the inner partition.

"Can you both hear me?" Ariadne's voice sounded in their headsets.

"Loud and clear," Demetri said.

"Hey," Lilly said into her lapel mic.

"What is it, Lilly?" Ariadne said.

"I'm...sorry for anything my other me did to you."

"There's no need to apologize. As you said, that wasn't you."

"Let's go get some dinner after this, yeah?"

"Very well. I would suggest a kebab place that I have yet to try out."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Lilly and Demetri stood in front of the innermost circle of the Rift Chamber. She glanced at her companion, who nodded at her. She turned to the station behind her. Dr. Cherenkov and Ariadne were holding their thumbs up.

"Okay," she sighed. "Let's go, Demetri. We have work to do."


End file.
